Research & Resources

Combined community- and individual-level interventions show reductions in alcohol use among American Indian/Alaska Native youths

American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) youths at high risk for alcohol use benefit greatly from a multilevel response. In this study, researchers combined individual-level interventions such as motivational interviewing with community-level initiatives such as community mobilization and restrictions on alcohol sales to minors. They implemented the program on a rural California reservation and found significant reductions in drinking when compared with the comparison group. This is a great example for prevention professionals to follow when designing multilevel programs. The study, “Prevention of Underage Drinking on California Indian Reservations Using Individual- and Community-Level Approaches,” was funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and published in the American Journal of Public Health.
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