Suzanne Mares

s.mares@pwo.ru.nl

Title of Research Project:
Testing “Hou vol! Geen alcohol”, a prevention program for parents and elementary schoolchildren targeted at delaying the age of alcohol onset of Dutch youth

Abstract:
The odds of becoming a problem drinker significantly increase for people who have their first drink at a relatively young age. Therefore, it is important to delay this early age of onset with prevention programs for elementary school children. The present research project is a longitudinal randomized controlled trial (RCT) evaluating the effects of a recently developed home-based alcohol prevention program, entitled “Hou vol! Geen Alcohol!”. A total of 656 mothers with 11-12 year old children will be involved in the experimental group receiving the intervention, and 656 parent-child dyads will participate in the control condition receiving a regular factsheet information brochure on youth alcohol use and the detrimental consequences of alcohol use for children. The home-based intervention program consists of 5 activity modules, which are attractive magazines including information, puzzles, games and quizzes to be completed by the parent and the child together. We expect that children involved in the intervention will be less likely to start drinking than children in the control group. We also expect parents in the experimental group to use more alcohol-specific socialization strategies than parents of the control group.