Preventing drinking among youth is a major public health priority. The estimated cost of underage drinking in the U.S. is $61.9 billion annually (Miller, Levy, Spicer, & Taylor, 2006). Alcohol is the most commonly used and abused drug in the U.S., with 41% reporting use in the past 30 days (Johnston, O'Malley, Bachman, & Schulenberg, 2012). Underage persons who drink are likely to drink large amounts (Flewelling, Paschall, & Ringwalt, 2004). Drinking by young people results in as many as 5,000 deaths from motor vehicle crashes, homicides, suicide, and other injuries (Hingson & Kenkel, 2004; National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2008; National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse, 2007). This project will build on a just-completed experimental evaluation of a community intervention to reduce adolescent access to alcohol (Flewelling et al., 2012). In that study, 36 Oregon communities were randomly assigned to receive or not receive stepped up enforcement of laws regarding sale of alcohol to minors plus a program for rewarding clerks for not selling to minors. The intervention reduced youth access to alcohol. Also, communities that achieved high levels of enforcement and rewards had lower rates of youth use. However, the intervention did little to alter social influences to drink. We believe that the addition of interventions designed to mobilize peer and parent influences would alter risk factors for alcohol use that are not adequately addressed by policy interventions. Therefore, the project would evaluate a strengthened intervention that (a) increases the level of enforcement and rewards for not selling and (b) adds youth activities and family communications that have been shown to enhance social influences. Based on recent research on the value of associating not smoking with social acceptance (Gordon, Biglan, & Smolkowski, 2008), we believe that a novel peer influence intervention that associates not drinking with social acceptance can have a greater deterrent effect than interventions using more traditional harm-related and refusal skills approaches. In addition, our research has identified a brief, positive parent communication activity that does not require significant classroom time, minimizes parent-child conflict, and effectively conveys parental expectations (Biglan et al., 1996). We propose to evaluate the intervention in a randomized trial involving 36 communities. We will assess the impact of the intervention through purchase surveys, surveys of 8th- and 11th-grade students, and law enforcement records.

Public Health Relevance

This project would evaluate a combination of policy and social influence interventions to reduce adolescent alcohol use and its sequelae. Our prior study showed that implementing and fully enforcing policies to increase the costs involved in obtaining and using alcohol had preventive effects. However, that intervention had limited impact. We believe that the addition of interventions designed to mobilize peer and parent influences would alter risk factors for alcohol use that are not adequately addressed by policy interventions. We propose to combine policy enforcement with a novel peer influence intervention that associates not drinking with social acceptance and a unique parent communication intervention that minimizes conflict and warmly conveys parents' positive expectations. We propose to evaluate the intervention in a randomized trial involving 36 communities.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01AA021726-05
Application #
9512621
Study Section
Risk, Prevention and Intervention for Addictions Study Section (RPIA)
Program Officer
Scott, Marcia S
Project Start
2014-09-15
Project End
2019-06-30
Budget Start
2018-07-01
Budget End
2019-06-30
Support Year
5
Fiscal Year
2018
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Oregon Research Institute
Department
Type
DUNS #
053615423
City
Eugene
State
OR
Country
United States
Zip Code
97403
Van Ryzin, Mark; Fishbein, Diana; Biglan, Anthony (2018) The Promise of Prevention Science for Addressing Intergenerational Poverty. Psychol Public Policy Law 24:128-143
Paschall, Mallie J; Bersamin, Melina (2018) School-Based Health Centers, Depression, and Suicide Risk Among Adolescents. Am J Prev Med 54:44-50
Biglan, Anthony (2018) The Ultimate Goal of Prevention and the Larger Context for Translation. Prev Sci 19:328-336
Paschall, Mallie J; Bersamin, Melina (2018) School-based mental health services, suicide risk and substance use among at-risk adolescents in Oregon. Prev Med 106:209-215
Paschall, Mallie J; Grube, Joel W; Biglan, Anthony (2017) Medical Marijuana Legalization and Marijuana Use Among Youth in Oregon. J Prim Prev 38:329-341
Biglan, Anthony; Van Ryzin, Mark J; Hawkins, J David (2017) Evolving a More Nurturing Society to Prevent Adverse Childhood Experiences. Acad Pediatr 17:S150-S157
Biglan, Anthony; Levin, Michael E (2016) Contextual analysis and the success of translational research. Transl Behav Med 6:160-6
Biglan, Anthony (2016) The Need for a More Effective Science of Cultural Practices. Behav Anal 39:97-107