Background: Alcohol use among European youths is a major public health problem. Traditional between-countries differences in access to alcohol, community tolerance and behavioral patterns are waning, and a more uniform picture is emerging, with increasing frequency of binge- and intoxication drinking as well as of alcohol-related problems even at very young ages. Universal prevention of substance use, such as interventions in schools, is appealing but its effectiveness has been debated and is not yet evaluated in a European context. The EU-DAP (European Drug Addiction Prevention) trial was conducted in 2004-2006 with funding from the European Community, in order to evaluate the effectiveness of a new school-based program on youths’ use of tobacco, alcohol and illicit drugs. This paper deals with the results on alcohol use. Methods: A controlled randomized community trial was conducted in seven EU countries, with 170 schools assigned to either intervention condition (102 schools, 3547 students) or control (usual condition, 68 schools, 3532 students). The school program under evaluation, denominated “Unplugged”, targeted 12-14 year-old students, and was based on a comprehensive social influence model including information on substances, normative education and training of social skills. Behavioral outcomes and other variables were self-reported by the students in an anonymous questionnaire administered before the school program, and on two follow-up occasions, 3 and 15 months after the completion of the program. Frequency of current alcohol drinking, episodes of drunkenness in the past 30 days, and alcohol-related problems (e.g. fighting, accidents) in the past 12 months were investigated. Multilevel regression models were used to estimate the adjusted prevalence odds ratios (POR) and corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI), chosen as measure of association between trial condition and behavioral outcomes. Results: At the second follow-up, the following statistically significant differences were observed in the intervention group compared to control group: a. a lower proportion of baseline non-drinkers had progressed to frequent (weekly) current drinking (13.6% vs. 16.0%); b. a lower proportion of baseline occasional drinkers had increased their consumption (44.3% vs. 53.9%) c. the onset of alcohol-related problems was lower (5.5% vs. 7.2%). The POR of past 30-day drunkenness was 0.80 (0.67-0.97) for any episode and 0.62 (0.47-0.81) for three or more episodes. Comment: A new school curriculum for universal prevention of substance use was found consistently associated to reduced alcohol consumption and related problems in European youths. Methodological improvement and replication trials in additional countries are underway.

Prevention of alcohol use among junior high-school students in Europe. Results from the EU-DAP trial

VIGNA-TAGLIANTI, Federica;
2009-01-01

Abstract

Background: Alcohol use among European youths is a major public health problem. Traditional between-countries differences in access to alcohol, community tolerance and behavioral patterns are waning, and a more uniform picture is emerging, with increasing frequency of binge- and intoxication drinking as well as of alcohol-related problems even at very young ages. Universal prevention of substance use, such as interventions in schools, is appealing but its effectiveness has been debated and is not yet evaluated in a European context. The EU-DAP (European Drug Addiction Prevention) trial was conducted in 2004-2006 with funding from the European Community, in order to evaluate the effectiveness of a new school-based program on youths’ use of tobacco, alcohol and illicit drugs. This paper deals with the results on alcohol use. Methods: A controlled randomized community trial was conducted in seven EU countries, with 170 schools assigned to either intervention condition (102 schools, 3547 students) or control (usual condition, 68 schools, 3532 students). The school program under evaluation, denominated “Unplugged”, targeted 12-14 year-old students, and was based on a comprehensive social influence model including information on substances, normative education and training of social skills. Behavioral outcomes and other variables were self-reported by the students in an anonymous questionnaire administered before the school program, and on two follow-up occasions, 3 and 15 months after the completion of the program. Frequency of current alcohol drinking, episodes of drunkenness in the past 30 days, and alcohol-related problems (e.g. fighting, accidents) in the past 12 months were investigated. Multilevel regression models were used to estimate the adjusted prevalence odds ratios (POR) and corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI), chosen as measure of association between trial condition and behavioral outcomes. Results: At the second follow-up, the following statistically significant differences were observed in the intervention group compared to control group: a. a lower proportion of baseline non-drinkers had progressed to frequent (weekly) current drinking (13.6% vs. 16.0%); b. a lower proportion of baseline occasional drinkers had increased their consumption (44.3% vs. 53.9%) c. the onset of alcohol-related problems was lower (5.5% vs. 7.2%). The POR of past 30-day drunkenness was 0.80 (0.67-0.97) for any episode and 0.62 (0.47-0.81) for three or more episodes. Comment: A new school curriculum for universal prevention of substance use was found consistently associated to reduced alcohol consumption and related problems in European youths. Methodological improvement and replication trials in additional countries are underway.
2009
17° Annual Meeting of the Society for Prevention Research
Washington, US
27-30 Maggio 2009
Proceedings of 17° Annual Meeting of the Society for Prevention Research
46
46
http://www.preventionscience.org/
Caria MP; Faggiano F; Vigna-Taglianti F; Bellocco R; Galanti MR; for the EU-Dap Study Group.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/2318/84296
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