Universal school-based prevention programmes for alcohol misuse in young people

Alcohol misuse in young people is cause of concern for health services, policy makers, prevention workers, criminal justice system, youth workers, teachers, parents. This is one of three reviews examining the effectiveness of (1) school-based, (2) family-based, and (3) multi-component prevention programs.

This research study aimed to review evidence on the effectiveness of universal school-based prevention programmes in preventing alcohol misuse in school-aged children up to 18 years of age.

This review identified studies that showed no effects of preventive interventions, as well as studies that demonstrated statistically significant effects. There was no easily discernible pattern in characteristics that would distinguish trials with positive results from those with no effects. Most commonly observed positive effects across programmes were for drunkenness and binge drinking.

Current evidence suggests that certain generic psychosocial and developmental prevention programmes can be effective and could be considered as policy and practice options. These include the Life Skills Training Programme, the Unplugged programme, and the Good Behaviour Game. A stronger focus of future research on intervention programme content and delivery context is warranted.

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