School alcohol education programmes can work, review finds

School prevention programmes aimed at curbing alcohol misuse in children can be effective, according to a large, international systematic review. The findings undermine the frequently made claim that school based alcohol education programmes are wholly ineffective.

The review found that the most significant programme effects were reductions in episodes of drunkenness and binge drinking. School-based prevention programmes that take a social skills-oriented approach or that focus on classroom behavior management can work to reduce alcohol problems in young people,” said David Foxcroft, lead review author. “However, there is good evidence that these sorts of approaches are not always effective.”

David Foxcroft, a psychologist at Oxford Brookes University, in England, and co-author Alexander Tsertsvadze, at the University of Ottawa Evidence-Based Practice Center, in Canada, analyzed 53 randomized controlled trials done in a wide range of countries with youth aged 5 to 18 when studies began. Forty-one studies took place in North America, six in Europe and six in Australia. One was conducted in India and one in Swaziland. Two studies took place in multiple locations.

The studies were divided into two major groups based on the nature of the prevention program:

• programs specifically targeting prevention or reduction of alcohol misuse

• generic programs with wider focus for prevention, for example other drug use/abuse, antisocial behavior

The review found studies that showed no effects of the preventive programme, as well as studies that demonstrated statistically significant effects. There was no easily discernible pattern in programme characteristics that would distinguish studies with positive results from those with no effects. Most commonly observed positive effects across programmes were for drunkenness and binge drinking. The authors conclude that current evidence suggests that certain generic psychosocial and developmental prevention programmes can be effective and could be considered as policy and practice options. These include the Life Skills Training Program, the Unplugged program, and the Good Behaviour Game.

The review appears in the May 2011 issue of The Cochrane Library, a publication of The Cochrane Collaboration, an international organisation that evaluates medical research. Systematic reviews draw evidencebased conclusions about medical practice after considering both the content and quality of existing medical trials on a topic.

Foxcroft, D; Tsertsvadze, A:
Universal school-based prevention programs for alcohol misuse in young people.
Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2011, Issue 5