Brief Nurse Consultations for Preventing Alcohol Use Among Urban School Youth

This study examined the effects of brief nurse consultations in preventing alcohol use among inner-city youth. Participants included 138 sixth-eighth grade students attending an inner-city public school in Jacksonville, Florida. Subjects were randomly assigned by computer to either the intervention (STARS program) or a control group. Baseline and three-month post-tests were conducted at the target school site. A significant difference was found on heavy alcohol use with intervention subjects showing a reduction and control subjects an increase in heavy drinking (t = -2.33, 120df, p = .02). No differences were found between groups on other alcohol use measures. This study's findings indicate that a series of brief nurse consultations appear to reduce heavy alcohol consumption among urban school youth.