Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2017 Apr 21;114(16):280-287.
doi: 10.3238/arztebl.2017.0280.

Preventing Binge Drinking in Adolescents

Reiner Hanewinkel  1 , Samuel Tomczyk, Michaela Goecke, Barbara Isensee
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Preventing Binge Drinking in Adolescents

Reiner Hanewinkel et al. Dtsch Arztebl Int. .

Abstract

Background: In a survey taken in Germany in 2015, 14.1% of the 12- to 17-year-olds surveyed had practiced binge drinking at least once in the preceding 30 days. The school program "Klar bleiben" ("Keep a Clear Head") was designed for and implemented among 10th graders. The participants committed themselves to abstain from binge drinking for 9 weeks. We studied whether this intervention influenced the frequency and intensity of binge drinking.

Methods: This cluster-randomized controlled trial was carried out in 196 classes of 61 schools, with a total of 4163 participants with a mean age of 15.6 years (standard deviation 0.73 years). Data were collected by questionnaire in late 2015, before the intervention and again six months later. The primary endpoints were the frequency of consumption of at least 4 or 5 alcoholic drinks (for girls and boys, respectively) and the typical quantity consumed. This trial was registered in the German Clinical Trials Registry (Deutsches Register Klinischer Studien, DRKS) with the DRKS ID number DRKS00009424.

Results: At the beginning of the trial, there was no difference between the intervention group and the control group with respect to the primary endpoints. After the intervention, differences were found among participants who had consumed alcohol before the trial (73.2% of the overall sample): binge drinking at least once in the preceding month was reported by 49.4% of the control group and by 44.2% in the intervention group (p = 0.028). The mean number of alcoholic drinks consumed in each drinking episode was 5.20 in the control group and 5.01 in the intervention group (p = 0.047).

Conclusion: The intervention was effective only in the large subgroup of adolescents who had previously consumed alcohol: they drank alcohol less often and in smaller amounts than their counterparts in the control group.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow diagram of study
Figure 2
Figure 2
Intensity of binge drinking a) Frequency of binge drinking, defined as at least monthly consumption of 4 or more (girls) or 5 or more (boys) drinks of alcohol on one occasion, in the groups over time. Adjusted relative frequencies are shown (covariates: school type, socioeconomic status, religion, friends’ consumption, class as cluster). b) Mean number of drinks per occasion in the groups over time. Adjusted means are shown (covariates: school type, socioeconomic status, religion, friends’ consumption, class as cluster).
eFigure
eFigure
Alcohol-related problems in the groups over time, recorded using CRAFFT-d Adjusted means are shown (covariates: school type, socioeconomic status, religion, friends’ consumption, class as cluster). CRAFFT: Car. Relax. Alone. Forget. Friends. Trouble
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Batra A, Muller CA, Mann K, Heinz A. Alcohol dependence and harmful use of alcohol. Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2016;113:301–310. - PMC - PubMed
    1. De Matos EG, Atzendorf J, Kraus L, Piontek D. Substanzkonsum in der Allgemeinbevölkerung in Deutschland. Sucht. 2016;62:271–281.
    1. World Health Organization. World Health Organization. Geneva: Global status on alcohol and health—2014.
    1. GBD 2015 Risk Factors Collaborators. Global, regional, and national comparative risk assessment of 79 behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risks or clusters of risks, 1990-2015: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015. Lancet. 2016;388:1659–1724. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Looze M, Raaijmakers Q, Bogt TT, et al. Decreases in adolescent weekly alcohol use in Europe and North America: evidence from 28 countries from 2002 to 2010. Eur J Public Health. 2015;25(2):69–72. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types