A Program to Curb Adolescent Drinking

In this short Education Week piece, Sarah Sparks summarizes a JAMA Psychiatry study of Advance, an alcohol-prevention program. Researchers studied 2,410 ninth graders participating in the program, which administers personality surveys to identify risk profiles for alcohol abuse including anxiety-sensitivity, hopelessness, impulsivity, and sensation-seeking. Groups of students with similar profiles then met to discuss ways of responding to drinking-related situations. Two years later, Advance students were less likely than peers to have started drinking. Those who did drink drank less and were less likely to binge drink.

“Effectiveness of a Selective, Personality-Targeted Prevention Program for Adolescent Alcohol Use and Misuse: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial” by Conrod et al. in JAMA Psychiatry (spotted in Education Week, Jan. 30, 2013, Vol. 32, #19, p. 4-5) 

From the Marshall Memo #471