Authors' objectives: Risky drinking by younger adolescents is a significant public health problem which is linked to intellectual impairment, increased risk of accidents, injuries, self harm, unprotected sex, violence and sometimes accidental death. To date, there has been very little work in the United Kingdom on early identification (screening) and brief intervention to reduce risky drinking in young people aged 14-15 in the school setting. This study is designed to work with young people who are already drinking at risky levels on a 1:1 basis compared to classroom-based alcohol education with young people whether they are drinking or not. This research aims to test if advice sessions with young people reduce levels of risky drinking. All young people in year 10 (14-15 year olds) at 20 schools in four geographical areas of England (North East, North West, South East and London) whose parents have not opted them out of the study will be asked to complete a classroom based lifestyle questionnaire which includes questions on alcohol as well as other lifestyle areas (smoking; mental health). Questionnaires will be sealed in an envelope when completed by the young people. Staff at the school will not see the results of the questionnaires. Researchers will give learning mentors at the schools a list of young people who indicate they are drinking at a risky level and leave their name. Young people will be asked to meet with a learning mentor who will explain the project to them and invite them to take part in the study. The sessions with the learning mentors will be 1:1. Schools involved in the study will deliver one of two different things. School learning mentors will either deliver what normally happens at school regarding advice/teaching around alcohol (control condition) as well giving a healthy lifestyle leaflet or what normally happens at school as well as an alcohol information leaflet and a 30-minute personalised interactive worksheet-based session. Twelve months later researchers from the study will meet with the young people 1:1 to ask them questions about their drinking as well as other lifestyle questions. We will then look at the answers given and compare them to 12 months earlier to see if there is any differences in levels of risky drinking and other lifestyle areas (such as smoking, mental health) between the two groups which will show us if the sessions work at reducing levels of risky drinking. We will interview young people and school staff to find out how the study worked in the school and whether the young people felt it had made a change to their drinking. We will also look to see whether the sessions are cost-effective to run in the school setting. This will give us the information to be able to recommend what should happen in schools to help young people with reducing their levels of risky drinking.

Project Status: Completed

URL for project: http://www.nets.nihr.ac.uk/projects/phr/1311702

Year Published: 2019

URL for published report: http://www.nets.nihr.ac.uk/projects/phr/1311702

English language abstract: An English language summary is available

Publication Type: Not Assigned

Country: England, United Kingdom

Organisation Name: NIHR Public Health Research programme

Contact Address: NIHR Journals Library, National Institute for Health and Care Research, Evaluation, Trials and Studies Coordinating Centre, Alpha House, University of Southampton Science Park, Southampton SO16 7NS, UK

Contact Name: journals.library@nihr.ac.uk

Contact Email: journals.library@nihr.ac.uk

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