Begin Alcohol Education Early

By Karyn Pasch, M.P.H., Ph.D.
April 21, 2008

Alcohol prevention programs instituted by schools and supported by parents are vital to discouraging youth from using alcohol, but we may not be starting these programs soon enough.

My recent research suggests that tweens (adolescents between the ages of eight and 14) should be receiving alcohol prevention programs prior to sixth grade, ideally between the third and fifth grade. While certainly not all children are alcohol users by sixth grade, the study found that one in six children at that age had used alcohol in the past year. Beginning programs earlier would allow for universal anti-alcohol messages that provide support for high-risk students.

Why is this important? There is strong evidence that those who engage in risky behaviors like drinking in childhood are more likely to continue those behaviors into adolescence and adulthood. Early alcohol consumption also predicts other troublesome behavior like drug use and violence.  Furthermore, as alcohol use becomes more frequent and accepted, users become less receptive to intervention and may be more likely to continue down a risky path.

Critical factors facing at-risk children include a lack of confidence to refuse alcohol, associations with at-risk peers, low academic achievement, and the failure to neither perceive nor value the negative consequences of alcohol use. Therefore, these issues must be addressed in universal prevention messages to children before the onset of alcohol use.

Why are universal prevention messages important? Children who already use alcohol respond differently to messages about alcohol than those who have never used it. For example, early alcohol users are more likely to be male, engage in violent or delinquent behavior, have friends who use alcohol, and have easy access to alcohol. Surprisingly, alcohol users are likely to be more physically active outside of school, engaging in activities like skateboarding, biking, and athletics. Spending time without parental supervision may produce an environment that promotes drinking. Therefore, messages and curricula that address these socio-environmental, personal, and behavioral risk factors should be integrated into prevention programs.

In addition, interventions should include parental involvement in order to help create opportunities for increased parent-child communication and provide parents with the skills to increase monitoring.

Students should receive developmentally-appropriate messages that not only provide them with the skills to refuse alcohol, but also correct the inaccurate perceptions that drinking is “normal.” Programs should also focus on other developmentally-appropriate messages of the age group, such as academic achievement, appropriate conduct, and pro-social peer relationships.

It is our responsibility, as parents and as educators, to inform our children of the dangers of alcohol before it’s too late.

Keryn Pasch, M.P.H., Ph.D. is a community program specialist in the School of Public Health.

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