[Effectiveness of alcohol prevention program for pre-adolescents]

Abstract

Aim: The aim of this research was to assess the delayed effects of a two-year alcohol prevention program implemented in Polish primary schools.

Method: The program comprised two curricula implemented the school and in family houses: Program Domowych Detektywów and Fantastyczne Mozliwości. Both curricula were the Polish versions of two American school-based prevention programs which belonged to Project Northland. The initial study sample (N = 802) comprised 10 to 11 years old pupils (fourth and fifth-grade) from eight primary schools in Warsaw. Schools were randomly assigned to the intervention (n = 421) and the reference group (n = 381). A self-completion questionnaire was administered to students four times: at the baseline, seven, fifteen and twenty seven months after.

Results: The program had an expected influence on the students' attitudes, knowledge and resistance skills towards alcohol. The effects on the participants' initiation of drunkenness and their first experience in alcohol use with their peers have also been reported. Most of the positive effects remained significant over time.

Conclusions: The effectiveness of the program, as shown by the outcome evaluation, supports an argument for its wide implementation in Polish schools. Further progress in the field of alcohol and drug prevention in Poland depends on overcoming the existing barriers in this area of public health.