Protecting You/Protecting Me: Evaluation of A Student-Led Alcohol Prevention and Traffic Safety Program for Elementary Students

Abstract

Abstract Pre- and post-surveys of self-protective knowledge and skills in third, fourth, and fifth grade classrooms (n = 24) randomly assigned to a model program for alcohol prevention and traffic safety or to comparison group (n = 24 classrooms) were analyzed to evaluate replicability of immediate positive effects of first-year exposure and to test cumulative effects of second year exposure to the five-year curriculum. Results demonstrate utility of a multi-year curriculum approach targeted to elementary school students. Children in intervention classrooms made greater gains in Media Literacy and Vehicle Safety Skills than did comparison students. Those with two years of exposure scored higher for Vehicle Safety Skills on the pre-survey and made greater increases than did comparison students. Keywords: Alcohol prevention, peer helpers, evaluation, children and youth, vehicle safety, media literacy INTRODUCTION Underage alcohol use is associated in the short-term with automobile crashes and fatalities, poor academic performance, truancy, violence, risky sexual behavior with an associated increased risk of unwanted pregnancies and contraction of sexually transmitted diseases, and even depression and suicide (Hingson, Heeren, Levenson, Jamanka, & Voas, 2002; Grant & Dawson, 1997; Kuhn, Swartzwelder, & Wilson, 2002; Martin, Mainous, & Curry, 1999; National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 1996; O'Malley, Johnston, & Bachman, 1998; United States Department of Justice, 1998). Long-term consequences include eventual alcohol dependency, impaired brain functioning, and other health risks including cancer and cerebrovascular disease (Brown, Tapert, Granholm, & Delis, 2000; Eckhardt et al., 1998; Grant & Dawson, 1997; National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 2000). Age of first alcohol use is a powerful predictor of lifetime alcohol abuse and dependence. The average American is less than 13 years old when he or she first drinks alcohol (Johnston, O'Malley, & Bachman, 2002). Research indicates that more than 40 percent of persons who begin drinking before age 13 become alcohol dependent at some dine in their lives (Grant & Dawson, 1997). The adolescent brain is still developing between the ages of 12 and 21, and is particularly vulnerable to the effects of alcohol in terms of critical thinking skills and memory (Brown et al., 2000; Kuhn et al., 2002). Another alcohol-related danger for children and youth is the risk of injury or death from motor vehicle crashes while riding with an impaired driver. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for children of every age from 4 to 14. Approximately 4,500 children under the age of 15 were killed in motor vehicle crashes in the three years from 2000-2002; 24% of these deaths each year were a result of alcohol-related crashes (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2001, 2002, 2003). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that from 1985 to 1996, 5,555 children younger than 15 years of age died as passengers in alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes (Quinlan, Brewer, Sleet, & Dellinger, 2000). In nearly two-thirds of these cases, the driver was not a stranger in another car, but the adult driver of the car in which the children were riding. Of the children killed, less than 20% were wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash. Few elementary school-based programs incorporate vital information about alcohol and its effects on the developing brain, and self-protection for children. According to the 1995 Weekly Reader survey, 54% of the fourth through sixth grade students reported learning about the dangers of illicit drugs at school, but less than one third (30%) learned about the dangers of drinking and smoking. However, research of children's knowledge and attitudes about alcohol indicates that young children acquire alcohol awareness long before direct involvement with it (Lloyd, 1996). …