OBJECTIVES. Project Northland is an efficacy trial with the goal of preventing or reducing alcohol use among young adolescents by using a multilevel, communitywide approach. METHODS. Conducted in 24 school districts and adjacent communities in northeastern Minnesota since 1991, the intervention targets the class of 1998 (sixth-grade students in 1991) and has been implemented for 3 school years (1991 to 1994). The intervention consists of social-behavioral curricula in schools, peer leadership, parental involvement/education, and communitywide task force activities. Annual surveys of the class of 1998 measure alcohol use, tobacco use, and psychosocial factors. RESULTS. At the end of 3 years, students in the intervention school districts report less onset and prevalence of alcohol use than students in the reference districts. The differences were particularly notable among those who were nonusers at baseline. CONCLUSIONS. The results of Project Northland suggest that multilevel, targeted prevention programs for young adolescents are effective in reducing alcohol use.

Project Northland was a randomized trial to reduce alcohol use among adolescents in 24 school districts in northeastern Minnesota. Phase 1 (1991-1994), when the targeted cohort was in grades 6-8, included school curricula, parent involvement, peer leadership and community task forces. The Interim Phase (1994-1996) involved minimal intervention. Phase 2 (1996-1998), when the cohort was in grades 11 and 12, included a classroom curriculum, parent education, print media, youth development and community organizing. Outcomes of these interventions were assessed by annual student surveys from 1991 to 1998, alcohol purchase attempts by young-looking buyers in 1991, 1994 and 1998, and parent telephone surveys in 1996 and 1998. Growth curve analysis was used to examine the student survey data over time. Project Northland was most successful when the students were young adolescents. The lack of intervention in the Interim Phase when the students were in grades 9 and 10 had a significant and negative impact on alcohol use. The intervention used with the high school students as those in grades 11 and 12 made a positive impact on their tendency to use alcohol use, binge drinking and ability to obtain alcohol. There was no impact in Phase 2 on other student-level behavioral and psychosocial factors. Developmentally appropriate, multi-component, community-wide programs throughout adolescence appear to be needed to reduce alcohol use.

Aims-The goal of this group-randomized trial was to test the effectiveness of an adapted alcohol use preventive intervention for urban, low-income and multi-ethnic settings.Design and Setting-Sixty-one public schools in Chicago were recruited to participate, were grouped into neighborhood study units, and randomly assigned to intervention or "delayed program" control condition.Participants-The study sample (n=5812 students) was primarily African American, Hispanic and low-income.Intervention-Students, beginning in sixth grade (age 12), received three years of intervention strategies (curricula, family interventions, youth-led community service projects, community organizing).Measurements-Students participated in yearly classroom-based surveys to measure their alcohol use and related risk and protective factors. Additional evaluation components included a parent survey, a community leader survey, and alcohol purchase attempts. NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author ManuscriptFindings-Overall the intervention, compared with a control condition receiving "prevention as usual," was not effective in reducing alcohol use, drug use or any hypothesized mediating variables (i.e., related risk and protective factors). There was a nonsignificant trend (p = .066) that suggested the ability to purchase alcohol by young appearing buyers was reduced in the intervention communities compared to the control communities, but this could be due to chance. Secondary outcome analyses to assess the effects of each intervention component indicated that the home-based programs were associated with reduced alcohol, marijuana, and tobacco use combined (p = .01), with alcohol use alone approaching statistical significance (p = .06).Conclusions-Study results indicate the importance of conducting evaluations of previously validated programs in contexts that differ from the original study sample. Also, the findings highlight the need for further research with urban, low-income adolescents from different ethnic backgrounds to identify effective methods to prevent and reduce alcohol use.