The goal of this project is to bridge the gap between scientific knowledge about alcohol use and its associated risks, and contemplation of that knowledge in ways that promote awareness, prevention, and behavioral change. To accomplish this objective, we will create a website that 1) explains what research tells us about the medical, biological, and behavioral ramifications and risks of alcohol use, abuse, and dependency, 2) presents the personal stories of individual teenage and young adult alcoholics and alcohol abusers, and 3) integrates these two types of knowledge in ways designed to promote changes in attitude and behavior. The technology for creating this website will be based on the inDepthLearning System, a set of web-based, interactive learning tools that we previously developed to address the educational needs of people with varying backgrounds and skills (use Internet Explorer to see http://indepthlearning.org for an example of this approach). Each page will be prepared at three levels of complexity with popup definitions in multiple languages and incorporate a built-in feedback learning system known to promote learning. When appropriate, the personal stories of alcoholics and alcohol abusers will be accessible by clicking on phrase-associated icons. This innovative system addresses the needs of individuals with varying interests, backgrounds, and reading skills. An e-mail-based encouragement system will foster repeated, anonymous access of the resulting website. To evaluate effectiveness, we will utilize assessment instruments designed to monitor changes in alcohol usage, behavior, and attitudes at intervals of one, three, eight, and fourteen months. Subjects for this preliminary evaluation will consist of a random group of young adult, web users who have just graduated from high school. Assessment information and feedback will guide improvements in our materials. We will then disseminate the website with its periodic encouragement system in ways designed to make it an important intervention resource that promotes awareness, prevention, and behavioral change. This proposal is made possible by a partnership that brings together scientists, educators, media experts, computer programmers, community outreach leaders, social workers, physicians, nurses, treatment experts, individuals in the recovery community, and leading researchers in the field of alcoholism and alcohol abuse by late teenage and young adult drinkers.
