Underage Drinking

This is a voluntary afterschool program for middle school aged youths to inform them about substance use and prevent them from starting or continuing alcohol use. The program is rated Effective for reducing alcohol use frequency, and Ineffective for reducing heavy alcohol use and improving alcohol resistance self-efficacy (the self-confidence to resist alcohol).

This is a school-based life skills training curriculum aimed at developing middle-school students’ social skills and competencies for resisting and reducing tobacco, alcohol, and other drug use. The program is rated Promising for reducing marijuana use.

This program uses motivational interviewing in primary care settings for adolescents at risk for substance use. The program is rated Effective for reducing the number of negative consequences experienced as a result of alcohol use and the number of negative consequences experienced as a result of marijuana use. The program is rated Ineffective for increasing one’s belief in their ability to resist using a substance, reducing alcohol use and marijuana use, and time around substance using peers.

This program uses psycho–social and present-moment awareness techniques to target adolescents’ alcohol-related cognitions and prevent their alcohol use. The program is rated Promising. Adolescents who received the intervention had reduced growth of alcohol consumption, compared with adolescents in the control group. There were no statistically significant differences between the groups in both negative and positive alcohol expectancies and drinking refusal self-efficacy.

This program was designed to reduce excessive drinking among adolescents and young adults ages 12-25 through community-wide enforcement operations and awareness campaigns. The program is rated Promising. There was a statistically significant reduction in alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes among 15- to 30-year-old drivers in treatment group cities, compared with control group cities.

This is a group-based learning approach that seeks to enhance peer relations by increasing opportunities for positive social integration between adolescents. The program is rated Promising. Students in intervention schools reported they were less willing to use alcohol, had fewer deviant peer affiliations, lower perceived student stress and emotional problems, and had higher academic engagement, compared with students in control schools. These differences were statistically significant.

This intervention seeks to increase staff ID checks for the sale of alcoholic beverages at licensed establishments, to help prevent sales to minors. The program is rated Effective. The results were mixed. One study found there was a statistically significant increase in age verification rates resulting from the intervention, whereas a second study found no statistically significant increases in ID-checking rates. Overall, the results suggest the intervention influenced ID-checking rates.

This is a mindfulness-based yoga program intended to reduce substance use (and the subsequent negative effects of use) for adolescents at high risk of dropping out of school. The program is rated Ineffective. There were no statistically significant differences in measures of substance use, self-regulation, mood, mindfulness, or coping skills for youth who participated in the program, compared with the control group youth.

This is a home-visiting program for youth on probation who are considered at high risk of recidivism. The program is rated Ineffective Compared with the treatment group, the control group was more likely to have completed probation, less likely to have probation revoked due to a technical violation, and committed fewer new crimes during probation; however, they recidivated sooner. There were no differences in the probation revocations due to severity of a new crime.

This program consists of a single-session, group-delivered intervention for high school and college students, which is designed to alter alcohol expectancies and lower alcohol use. The program is rated Promising. The program was shown to have a statistically significant effect on modifying alcohol expectancy processes and reducing alcohol consumption in college students; however, there was no statistically significant impact on high school students.

This brief, cognitive behavioral, motivational intervention was designed to address alcohol and other drug use as well as aggressive behaviors among English- and Spanish-speaking adolescents who were already involved in drugs and aggressive behavior. This program is rated Ineffective The study found no statistically significant differences in measures of substance use and aggressive behaviors between adolescents in the treatment group, compared with adolescents receiving standard care.

This is a community-based program that was designed to address substance abuse and antisocial behavior. The program is rated Promising. Students in the schools that implemented the PROSPER model had statistically significant fewer conduct problems and lower lifetime illicit substance use, compared with students in control schools. However, there were no statistically significant impacts on driving after drinking alcohol or frequency of drunkenness.

This program represents an alternative to traditional processing in the juvenile justice system. Rather than going through court processing, youth with substance-abuse problems are placed in treatment. The goal is to reduce their use of drugs and criminal behavior. The program is rated Promising. At the 2-year follow up, program participants had fewer overall and drug-related rearrests, compared with a matched comparison group. These differences were statistically significant.

This is a sexual assault risk-reduction program that is designed to teach college women bystanders about sexual assault, characteristics of men who perpetrate the crime, and how to intervene. The program is rated Promising. Experimental group participants demonstrated statistically significant increases in their ability and willingness to intervene, compared with control group participants. However, there was no statistically significant impact on rape myth acceptance.

This program consisted of a comprehensive, neighborhood-based, family-focused service delivery model that employed wraparound services and case management for justice-involved families with identified substance abuse problems. The program is rated Promising. Treatment group youth had a statistically significant decrease in noninstitutional and institutional out-of-home placements, compared with comparison group youth. However, there was no statistically significant difference in recidivism.

This is a school-based intervention involving administrators, teachers, staff, and parents that aims to improve relationships and school climate to enhance student achievement. The program is rated Promising. Students in treatment schools reported statistically significant reductions in the frequency of angry feelings and acting out, and greater disapproval of misbehavior, compared with students in control schools. There were no statistically significant differences in substance use.

This program incorporates contingency management protocols and multisystemic therapy into traditional juvenile drug court services to provide juveniles and families with additional engagement opportunities and support to reduce recidivism and substance abuse. The program is rated Promising. The program statistically significantly reduced alcohol and poly drug use, positive drug urine screens, status offenses, and property offenses. The program had mixed effects on marijuana use and offenses.

This is a home-based, family preservation model for families in crisis because a youth has run away from home. The model targets 12- to 17-year-olds who are staying in a runaway shelter and dealing with substance abuse issues. The program is rated Promising. Treatment group adolescents reported a statistically significant reduction in the percentage of days they used alcohol or drugs, compared with control group adolescents who received services as usual, at the 15-month follow up.

This was a multicomponent intervention to prevent delinquency and substance misuse for girls in foster care transitioning from elementary school to middle school. The program is rated Promising. Treatment group girls reported statistically significantly reduced tobacco use, marijuana use, and delinquent behavior, compared with control group girls. However, there was no statistically significant impact on alcohol use or association with delinquent peers.

This is a culturally-based intervention targeting substance abuse among Native American adolescents. The program was designed for students who were part of the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians, the eighth largest tribe in Oklahoma. The program is rated Promising. The program was statistically significantly more effective in reducing substance abuse and other related problem behaviors compared with other nonculturally, standard substance abuse education programs.

This is a school-based drug prevention program designed to reduce students’ intention to use alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drugs and promote prosocial attitudes, skills, and behaviors. The program is rated Ineffective. There were mixed findings in students’ self-reported emotional competency skills, social and resistance skills, and perceptions of the harmful effects of drugs. There were also no statistically significant impacts on students’ attitudes toward drugs.

This is a school-based prevention program designed for high-risk students. The program is rated Ineffective. There were no statistically significant differences between experimental group youth and control group youth in engagement in delinquency, alcohol use, smoking, GPA, anger, and school connectedness. There were also statistically significant negative program effects for experimental group youth in conventional peer bonding and peer high-risk behavior.

These court supervised, post-plea (but pre-final disposition) drug diversion programs provide comprehensive community-based treatment services to juveniles convicted of an offense and their families. The program is rated Promising. The program had a statistically significant impact on recidivism.

This is a substance abuse intervention program for high-risk adolescents (ages 12–18) living in residential facilities. The program is rated Promising. Treatment group youth showed a statistically significant lower likelihood of reporting alcohol, marijuana, or overall alcohol and other drug (AOD) use in the previous 30 days, compared with comparison group youth.

This is a health education curriculum that targets K–12 students and includes age-appropriate lessons that focus on the most serious health challenges facing school-aged children. The program is rated Promising. There was a statistically significant impact on aggressive behavior, social and emotional health, interpersonal and drug refusal skills, and past-30-day alcohol and cigarette use. However, there was no statistically significant effect on prosocial behavior.

This is a health promotion program designed to prevent alcohol use among at-risk middle and junior high school youth. The goal is to postpone alcohol use until adulthood. The program seeks to identify the various risk factors that youth are exposed to and offer them targeted information concerning underage alcohol use. The program is rated Ineffective. There were no statistically significant effects on frequency of alcohol use, quantity of alcohol consumption, or heavy alcohol use.

This is a community-based program to reduce underage drinking and alcohol-related offenses. The program is rated Promising. Intervention sites reported statistically significant reductions in DUI and nighttime crashes, average drinking quantity and variance, police-reported assaults, and EMS calls involving assault and motor vehicle crashes, compared with control sites. There was no difference in ED assaults, police reports of public drunkenness, or EMS calls involving alcohol or other drugs.

This is an alcohol prevention program for adolescents (typically high school students) that combines peer support with group reward structures. The program is rated Effective. Treatment group participants demonstrated statistically significant improvements in drinking behaviors, impulsive behaviors, attitudes toward drinking and driving, and alcohol knowledge, compared with control group participants.

This is a school-based program designed to improve students’ school attitudes and reduce delinquency. The program is rated Promising. The program showed a statistically significant positive effect on participants’ attainment of higher rates of supportive behavior and spontaneous prosocial behavior, compared with students who did not participate. There were no statistically significant effects on negative behavior, harmoniousness, substance/alcohol use, property damage, theft, or victimization.

This is a curriculum-based program for adolescents that aims to change attitudes toward and reduce substance use. The program is rated Promising. Participants demonstrated a statistically significant reduction in alcohol, marijuana, cigarette, and overall drug use; an increase in negative attitudes toward alcohol and marijuana; and an increase in knowledge of drug use and health consequences. However, there was no statistically significant effect on chewing tobacco behaviors.

This is an alcohol misuse prevention curriculum for 10- to 18-year-olds that emphasized resistance training, knowledge of the immediate effects of alcohol use, identification of the risks of alcohol misuse, and recognition of social pressures that lead to alcohol misuse. The program is rated Ineffective. There were no statistically significant effects found on alcohol use, alcohol misuse, serious offenses, or refusal skills.

This is a school-based program designed to teach students to cope with daily challenges. The program is rated Promising. Students who participated in this program showed a statistically significant improvement in number of coping skills, and in impulse control, peer popularity, and conflict resolution, compared with students who did not participate. However, there were no statistically significant differences in substance or alcohol use or in assertiveness with adults.

This is a family-centered intervention, which addresses family dynamics to prevent substance use and problem behaviors in adolescents. The program is rated Effective. Students in the treatment group were found to report less substance use, including alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana; and demonstrate less antisocial behavior, compared with students in the control group. These differences were all statistically significant.

This program seeks to reduce substance abuse and problem behavior in adolescents. The program is rated Promising. The intervention group had a statistically significant decrease in favorable attitudes toward substance use at the 24-month follow up and in drug use frequency at the 72-month follow up, compared with the comparison group. However, there were no statistically significant differences at the 24-month follow up in violent and delinquent behavior and perceived harm of drug use.

This program seeks to reduce substance use and problem behaviors of youths with substance use disorders. The program is rated Promising. Relative to treatment-as-usual youths, intervention youths showed a statistically significant reduction in the number of crimes committed (i.e., property and violent crimes), substance use problems, and delinquent behaviors. But there were no statistically significant differences in diagnoses of cannabis use disorder or externalizing and internalizing behaviors

This is an educational and job training program for economically disadvantaged youth. The program is rated Promising. Youth in Job Corps demonstrated a lower rate of future arrest, conviction, and incarceration, as well as a higher rate of employment, higher earnings, and longer time spent employed, compared with control group youth. These findings were statistically significant. However, there were no statistically significant differences in alcohol or illegal drug use.

This is a community program designed to reduce youth’s access to alcohol by changing community and law enforcement policies, attitudes, and practices. The program is rated Ineffective. There were no statistically significant differences between treatment sites and control sites in youth’s drinking prevalence, number of past-month drinking occasions, number of drinks consumed, attempts to purchase alcohol, or in alcohol merchants’ behavior.

This program is designed to prevent substance use in American Indian adolescents by teaching them bicultural social skills. The program is rated Promising. Youth who participated in the program demonstrated lower rates in use of smokeless tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, and inhalants. Program youth also showed better knowledge of substances and alternatives to substance use, self-control, and assertiveness, compared with control group youth. These differences were statistically significant.

This is a family-based alcohol prevention program for families with middle school-aged children. The program is rated Promising. Students in the program reported fewer family fights; higher family cohesion, and school attachment; and more negative views on underage alcohol consumption, compared with control group students. Parents in the program reported greater opposition to underage alcohol consumption, compared with control group parents. These differences were statistically significant.

This is a team-centered, health promotion program for female high school athletes. The program is rated Promising. Athletes who participated in the program had a statistically significant higher likelihood of reporting improved nutritional behaviors and decrease in lifetime alcohol and marijuana use, compared with control group athletes. However, findings regarding the use of diet pills were mixed, and there was no statistically significant impact on the use of athletic-enhancing substances.

This is a media literacy and substance use prevention program intended for third- through fifth-grade students. The program is rated Promising. Intervention group students demonstrated less intention to use alcohol and tobacco in the future, better deconstruction skills, higher understanding of persuasive intent, and higher self-efficacy, compared with control group students. These differences were statistically significant.

This is a media literacy and substance use prevention program for sixth- through eighth-grade students. The program is rated Promising. Intervention group students reported less intention to use tobacco in the future, compared with control group students, at the 2-week follow up (a statistically significant difference). However, there were no statistically significant differences between the groups in intention to use alcohol in the future.

This is a school-based, universal substance abuse prevention program for middle school students. The program is rated Ineffective. Intervention students self-reported greater use of alcohol and cigarettes and more binge drinking, compared with control group students, at the 5-year follow up. These differences were statistically significant. There were no statistically significant differences between groups in marijuana use.

This is a comprehensive program intended to promote an antidrug message throughout communities and prevent substance use among middle school students. The program is rated Effective. One study found that treatment group students had statistically significant lower past-month and past-week rates of cigarette use, compared with control group students. However, a second study found no statistically significant differences in smoking, alcohol, or marijuana use between groups.

This is a family-based intervention designed to prevent and treat youth behavior problems. The program is rated Promising. Intervention families showed a statistically significant greater likelihood of being engaged and retained in treatment, and intervention youth showed statistically significant greater improvement in conduct disorder and socialized aggression. There were no statistically significant differences in adolescent alcohol use or improved family functioning.

This is a school-based violence prevention and character education program designed to improve student behavior and minimize aggression. The program is rated Promising. The program had statistically significant positive effects on risk and protective factors related to student violence for students in grade 3. There were also statistically significant positive effects on factors related to alcohol, tobacco, drug use, and violence for students in grades 9 through 12.

This is a school-based program for seventh and eighth graders, which was designed to prevent substance use initiation and reduce future substance use. The program is rated Ineffective. There were no statistically significant differences in alcohol use, marijuana use, or cigarette use between students who participated in the program and control group students.

This is an outdoor experiential prevention program for at-risk American Indian youth, which concentrates on American Indian cultural values to promote prosocial development and avoidance of alcohol and other drugs. The program is rated Promising. Treatment group youth reported statistically significant lower growth in overall substance use (cigarettes, marijuana, alcohol, and other illicit substances), compared with control group youth, at the 18-month follow up.

The program is a multicomponent family skills training program that targets substance-abusing families. The program is rated Promising. There were overall mixed results across three studies. One study found no significant effects on measures of child problem behavior, risk/protective factors, and family factors. However, one study found significant impacts on children’s problem behavior, and another study found significant impacts on time to reunification for child welfare-involved families.

This is a school-based intervention designed to promote positive youth development and reduce substance use. This program is rated Promising. Intervention students showed statistically significant improvements in teacher ratings of antisocial behavior and social competency and reported a statistically significant decline in frequency of alcohol and marijuana use, compared with control students. However, there were no differences in prevalence of alcohol, marijuana, or cigarette use.

This was a school and community intervention that targeted children at an early age to prevent and reduce underage alcohol use. This program is rated Promising. The treatment group showed statistically significant reductions in alcohol use, binge drinking, and successful alcohol purchases by young-appearing buyers, compared with the comparison group. However, there was no statistically significant difference between groups in attitudes toward substance use.

This is a program designed to prevent the development of aggressive and antisocial behaviors in children in elementary school. The program is rated Effective. Youth who participated in the intervention demonstrated statistically significant reductions in physical aggression; in initiation of alcohol and tobacco; and in use over time of alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drugs; compared with control youth. However, there were no significant differences between groups in initiation of illicit drugs.

This is a classroom-based, drug abuse–prevention program for upper elementary and junior high school students. This program is rated Effective. Students who participated in the program reported a statistically significant decrease in prevalence of cigarette, alcohol, and polydrug use; and slower growth in initiation of substance use, compared with control students. However, there were no significant differences between groups on self-reported marijuana use.

This version of multisystemic therapy is for adolescents with substance abuse and dependency issues. This program is rated Effective. Treatment youth showed statistically significant reductions in marijuana use and in aggressive behavior and convictions for aggressive behavior, compared with control group youth. However, no significant differences between groups were found for symptoms of mental health, criminal behavior, or alcohol or cocaine use.

This is a person-centered counseling method designed to foster motivation for change in youth who abuse alcohol and marijuana. The program is rated Ineffective. Participants showed a statistically significant reduction in likelihood to exhibit negative treatment engagement and drive under the influence of alcohol, compared with control youth; however, there were no significant differences in other outcomes such as positive treatment engagement or driving under the influence of marijuana.

This is a preventive intervention designed to help college students make better decisions about alcohol use. The program is rated Effective. The intervention group showed statistically significant reductions in negative consequences of drinking (for example, accidents, violence or academic problems) and peak blood alcohol content. However, findings were mixed with regard to quantities consumed, and there was no statistically significant difference between groups in frequency of drinking.

This is a home visitation program for low-income, first-time mothers designed to improve family functioning. The program is rated Effective. Treatment families reported statistically significant decreases in child abuse/neglect and domestic violence and improvements in home learning environments, compared with control families. Treatment children reported statistically significant decreases in substance use, compared with control children, but there were no differences in behavior problems.

This is a prevention program designed to decrease adolescents’ underage drinking and delinquency by increasing parents’ restrictive and prohibitory attitudes toward these behaviors. The program is rated Promising. Adolescents whose parents participated in the program had a statistically significant lower likelihood of having been drunk in the past month, lower alcohol use overall, and lower delinquency levels, compared with adolescents whose parents did not participate in the program.

This is a family-based program designed to prevent and reduce tobacco and alcohol use among children between the ages of 12 and 14. The program is rated Ineffective here were no statistically significant differences found between treatment group youth and control group youth in tobacco and alcohol use at the 12-month follow up.

This is a school-based program designed to prevent substance use. The program is rated Ineffective. There were no statistically significant effects on marijuana use, cocaine use, or on prevalence of getting drunk, and mixed effects on tobacco use, alcohol use, and hard drug use. There was a statistically significant improvement for the treatment group in overall substance use and an index of all hard drug use.

This is a family-competency training program to promote healthy parent-child interactions and address children’s risk for early substance use. The program is rated Promising. Parent participants had a statistically significant improvement in intervention-targeted parenting behaviors, at 1-year posttest. Child participants had a statistically significant lower likelihood of alcohol-related problems and cigarette use, after 10 years, but there was no effect on being drunk and using illicit drugs.

This program offers one-to-one mentoring in a community setting for at-risk youth between the ages of 6 and 18. This program is rated Effective. It was associated with a statistically significant reduction in initiating drug and alcohol use and antisocial behavior among mentored youth, compared with non-mentored youth. Mentored youth also showed statistically significant improvement in relationships with parents and academic performance (i.e., better grades and fewer absences).

This is a school-based drug use prevention program, taught by police officers, which was designed for students in the sixth through 12th grades. The primary goal was to teach peer resistance and refusal skills so that adolescents can say “no” to drugs. The program is rated Ineffective. There were no statistically significant differences between treatment and control group participants in drug use, attitudes toward drug use, or self-esteem.

This is a program comprised of a 35-minute therapy session for adolescents who received care in emergency rooms, designed to reduce subsequent violent behavior and alcohol use. The program is rated Ineffective. The intervention groups showed statistically significant improvements on attitudinal measures of violence and alcohol use, compared with the control group; however, there were no statistically significant differences between the groups in behavior changes related to alcohol or violence.

This is a planning and implementation system that helps community stakeholders come together to address adolescent behavior problems such as violence, delinquency, substance abuse, teen pregnancy, and dropping out of school. This program is rated Promising. There were statistically significant lower levels of risk factors and a lower likelihood of initiation of delinquent behavior for intervention communities, compared control communities, but mixed results in substance use initiation.