Peer-planned social activities for preventing alcohol use among young adolescents.

The Project Northland peer participation program tested the feasibility of involving students in the planning and promotion of alcohol-free social activities for their peers and to determine whether such participation was associated with reduced alcohol use. The peer program was offered in 20 northeastern Minnesota schools when the study cohort was in seventh grade; students completed a survey in the beginning of sixth grade and at the end of sixth grade and seventh grade. Nearly 50% of the study cohort participated in the program. At the end of seventh grade, after controlling for confounders, an association was observed between student involvement with planning activities and a lower rate of alcohol use. This association was strongest among students who had reported alcohol use at the beginning of sixth grade. This cohort study suggests adolescent involvement in planning their own alcohol-free activities may be an efficacious strategy to prevent or reduce the prevalence of alcohol use among youth. Future studies are warranted to evaluate this association using experimental research designs.

Project Northland: outcomes of a communitywide alcohol use prevention program during early adolescence.

OBJECTIVES: Project Northland is an efficacy trial with the goal of preventing or reducing alcohol use among young adolescents by using a multilevel, communitywide approach. METHODS: Conducted in 24 school districts and adjacent communities in northeastern Minnesota since 1991, the intervention targets the class of 1998 (sixth-grade students in 1991) and has been implemented for 3 school years (1991 to 1994). The intervention consists of social-behavioral curricula in schools, peer leadership, parental involvement/education, and communitywide task force activities. Annual surveys of the class of 1998 measure alcohol use, tobacco use, and psychosocial factors. RESULTS: At the end of 3 years, students in the intervention school districts report less onset and prevalence of alcohol use than students in the reference districts. The differences were particularly notable among those who were nonusers at baseline. CONCLUSIONS: The results of Project Northland suggest that multilevel, targeted prevention programs for young adolescents are effective in reducing alcohol use.

A home-based prevention program for sixth-grade alcohol use: Results from project Northland.

Project Northland is designed to prevent alcohol use among young adolescents. The project is ongoing in 24 school districts, randomly assigned to intervention or reference conditions. Multiple interventions begin with sixth graders and continue through eighth grade. The reference districts offer their standard health curricula. Evaluation consists of school surveys with the cohort (N = 2201) and telephone surveys of half their parents. This article describes the sixth-grade home-based intervention, the Slick Tracy Home Team. Findings of broad-based participation across sex, race, and risk status were documented, as well as some increases in knowledge and family communication about alcohol use.

The ability of young people to purchase alcohol without age identification in northeastern Minnesota, USA.

The purpose of this study was to determine the rate at which young people can purchase alcohol without age identification in off-premises businesses, and the factors which influence the rate of purchase. All retail outlets licensed to sell distilled spirits and/or full strength beer and wine in 28 northern Minnesota communities were visited on different occasions by three 21-year-old female buyers who appeared to be aged 19 or younger. These youthful buyers were able to purchase beer without age identification in 47% of the 336 purchase attempts. Almost four-fifths of the businesses sold beer to these buyers at least once in three attempts. These results provide clear evidence that many commercial off-sale businesses in the US supply alcohol to youthful buyers, and that practices vary significantly by community and by business. These results support the need for greater attention to availability as a factor in teenage drinking patterns.

Where and how adolescents obtain alcoholic beverages.

Patterns of acquisition of alcoholic beverages by underage youth were studied, using focus group methods with a sample of midwestern youth. Results showed that the alcohol initially used by those in their early teens is obtained from parents' stocks or from older siblings and friends. By the midteens, parties at which alcohol (usually beer) is readily available become the major source. In the mid to late teens, young people purchase alcohol from commercial alcohol outlets, despite the fact that 21 is the legal age for purchasing alcohol. Factors reported to increase the rate of successful alcohol purchases include female buyer, male seller, young seller, and convenience store outlet. Results of focus group interviews revealed the easy accessibility of alcoholic beverages to underage youth. Further investigation into patterns of underage access to alcohol is recommended, with results from the focus group study guiding the design of probability sample studies to assess their generalizability.

Background, conceptualization and design of a community-wide research program on adolescent alcohol use: Project Northland.

Project Northland is a community-wide research program funded by the National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse, for a 5-year period (1990-95). The aim of the study is to prevent or delay onset of alcohol use among young adolescents, as well as to reduce use among those who are already drinkers. Twenty communities were recruited in northeastern Minnesota, an area referred to as the Northland, Arrowhead or Iron Range region, and then were randomly assigned to either Education or Delayed Program conditions. The 10 Education school districts have agreed to participate in 3 years of intervention programs in schools, with parents and in the community-at-large. One group of young adolescents, the Class of 1998 (sixth grade students in the 1991-92 school year), form the study cohort. Surveys (1991-94) of the Class of 1998, their parents, community leaders and alcohol merchants are the primary components of the program's evaluation. Many conceptual and methodological questions emerged during the development of the research protocols for Project Northland over the past 2 years. These questions are the impetus for this article. Specifically, the focus on young adolescents and alcohol use was selected, as contrasted with older adolescents or with multiple problem behaviors. The project was designed using a community-wide model that addresses both supply and demand issues, rather than limited to a school-based model. Intervention strategies and evaluation methods were chosen that could address community-level as well as individual-level behavior change, which required the development and application of new technologies. The rationale for these decisions may be useful to others considering community-wide health promotion efforts.