The aims of this research are to 1) reduce the incidence and prevalence of alcohol abuse among adolescents; 2) test the relative efficacy of social psychologically based prevention programs which focus on social influence resistance training versus normative education versus a combined approach; 3) test the efficacy of prevention programs which are delivered at seventh versus ninth grades. All programs will feature the use of same age peer leaders a program facilitators. A five year study is proposed. The study will be divided into two phases. In Phase I, materials will be refined and process evaluation will be the focus of research activities. During this period, comparability of programs in terms of peer leader involvement and health educator delivery of programs will be assured via empirical tests of these as confounding variables. During this period, the combined curriculum will also be developed. All program materials will be tested for student receptivity and theoretical integrity. Phase II will involve a formal test of the three curricula as preventive treatments for seventh and ninth grade students. In a 3x2 + controls experimental design in which cohort and year of treatment are partially unconfounded, schools are assigned randomly to receive a resistance training, normative education or combined program each of which focuses on preventing the onset of alcohol abuse. The resistance training and normative education programs will consist of six sessions. The combined program is expected to consist of nine sessions (the exact length to be determined empirically in Phase I). Junior-senior high school complexes will be assigned randomly to receive intervention at either the seventh or ninth grade levels. Non-intervention (randomly assigned) controls will be included. Subjects will be pre and posttested with a questionnaire which will assess alcohol use (including contextual use), attitudes, beliefs, normative expectations, self-efficacy, and use by others. Special attention will be devoted to assessing variables hypothesized to mediate program effectiveness.
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