Testing “Hou vol! Geen alcohol”, a prevention program for parents and elementary schoolchildren targeted at delaying the age of alcohol onset of Dutch youth.

The aim of the project is to test a highly innovative program for mothers and children of elementary school age in a Dutch sample. A randomized controlled trial (RCT) will be conducted among mothers of 8th grade children, and short- and long-term assessments on child drinking indicators and anti-alcohol socialization will be conducted.

Two hypotheses will be tested. First, we expect parents in the experimental group, who drink as well as those who abstain from alcohol, to use more alcohol-specific socialization strategies than parents in the control group. Second, we expect that children involved in the "Hou vol! Geen alcohol" intervention will be less likely to start drinking than children in the control group.

Baseline, 6 months, 12 months and 18 months.

The objective of the present study is to test an intervention program focusing on anti-alcohol socialization skills for parents of primary schoolchildren: "Hou vol! Geen alcohol". "Hou vol! Geen alcohol" is a home-based program and consists of a series of five activity guides for parents and children to complete together. These guides will be mailed to their homes every month.



For the control group an alternative program will be used based on facts. These factsheets provide knowledge about youth drinking and focuses parents attention on macro level variables relevant to youth drinking but not targeted by treatment versions of the program.