Mechanisms of change in a community-based alcohol prevention framework among adolescents

The aim of the current study was to investigate the effects of a co-created, multi-component and community-based intervention on adolescent perceptions of social norms relating to alcohol, parental rules about alcohol, and the formal (outside home) and informal (inside home) perceived accessibility of alcohol. A quasi-experimental, longitudinal design was employed with one experimental municipality (52.6%) and one control municipality (47.4%). A sample of N = 2165 adolescents (Mage = 14.2, SD = 1.32, 51% girls) filled out two annual online questionnaires. Results demonstrated that adolescents in the intervention municipality displayed significantly lower levels of positive general norms towards alcohol than adolescents in the control municipality (β=-0.09, p<.001). Moreover, adolescents in the intervention municipality indicated perceiving alcohol as less accessible both within their own home (informal; β=-0.10, p<.001) and in formal settings (café, bar, etc.; (β=-0.11, p<.001). Additionally, they reported experiencing stricter rules from their parents about alcohol (β = 0.09, p<.001). This study supports a whole-community approach to alcohol prevention by reducing parental and community factors that influence adolescent alcohol use.