Abstract
BackgroundIt is currently unknown if school-based social norms interventions are effective in preventing harmful alcohol consumption and other drug use among adolescents in Denmark. This paper describes the social norms-based programme The GOOD life and the design of a cluster-randomized controlled trial to test its effectiveness.Methods/DesignThe intervention The GOOD life is composed of three social norms components representing three different communication channels, namely face-to-face communication (normative feedback session), print communication (posters) and interactive media (web application). The intervention period of 8 weeks is preceded and followed by data collection, with the follow-up taking place 3 months after baseline. Public schools in the Region of Southern Denmark with grades 8 and 9 are invited to participate in the study and participating schools are randomly allocated to either intervention or control schools. The aim is to recruit a total of 39 schools and a sample of 1.400 pupils for the trial. An online questionnaire is conducted to examine the use of alcohol, tobacco and marijuana as well as the perceived frequency of use among peers of their own grade, which is measured before and after the intervention. Baseline data is used to develop social norms messages which are included in the three intervention components. Primary outcomes are binge drinking (more than 5 units at one occasion) and perceived frequency of binge drinking among peers, while smoking, marijuana use and alcohol-related harm will be assessed as secondary outcomes.DiscussionThe GOOD life study will provide necessary insights on descriptive and injunctive norms regarding alcohol and other drug use among Danish adolescents. In addition, it will provide new knowledge and insight on the feasibility, implementation context and effectiveness of a newly developed social norms intervention in the Danish school context.Trial registrationDate of registration: 17 February 2016 (retrospectively registered) at Current Controlled Trials with study ID ISRCTN27491960
Highlights
It is currently unknown if school-based social norms interventions are effective in preventing harmful alcohol consumption and other drug use among adolescents in Denmark
This paper describes the social norms-based programme The GOOD life and the design of a cluster-randomized controlled trial to test its effectiveness
This paper describes the design of the schoolbased cluster-randomized trial The GOOD life (In Danish: Det GODE liv) which aims to reduce AOD use and related harm among Danish adolescents
Summary
It is currently unknown if school-based social norms interventions are effective in preventing harmful alcohol consumption and other drug use among adolescents in Denmark. One third of boys and girls performed poorly at school due to drinking. Adolescents who use alcohol, tobacco or other drugs achieve lower grades, have more negative attitudes towards school and exhibit increased absenteeism [6, 7]. An increased likelihood of harmful drinking in adolescence has been described as contributing to long-term consequences with regard to harmful drinking as an adult [9]. It can be argued that decreased substance use would reduce the risk of substance related events and other harmful behaviour, and potentially improve health and life prospects among young people
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