Preventure: preventing binge drinking among Dutch youth.

The effectiveness of the intervention Preventure will be tested in a Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) with two conditions: an experimental condition, receiving the intervention and a control condition not receiving the intervention. Following the initial screening survey there will be three follow up measurements: at 2, 6 and 12 months. A survey sample of 4000 students is needed to get the required 256 students in both conditions. The intervention is manual based and involves two 90 minutes group sessions, carried out at the participants' schools. The group sessions are provided by a qualified counselor. The intervention incorporate the principles from the motivational and cognitive-behavioral literature. The intervention is tailored to the personality risk profiles of students: Anxiety Sensivity, Sensation Seeking, Impulsivity and Negative Thinking.

It will be expected that the implementation of the intervention Preventure will reduce alcohol use (binge drinking) by young adolescents (12-16 year).

1. September/October 2009 Screening (To);

2. April/May 2010 (T1);

3. September/October 2010 (T2);

4. January/February 2011 (T3).

The intervention involves two 90-minutes group sessions, carried out at the participants’ schools. The interventions are provided by a qualified counselor. The intervention incorporates three main components: a psycho-educational component, a motivational interviewing component and a cognitive-behavioral component. In the first session, participants are guided in a goal-setting exercise designed to enhance motivation to explore personality and ways of coping with one’s personality. Psycho-educational strategies are used to educate participants about the target personality variable (NT, AS, IMP and SS) and the associated problematic coping behaviors, such as interpersonal dependence, avoidance, aggression, risky behaviors and substance misuse. They are then introduced to the cognitive-behavioral model and then guided in dissecting a personal experience according to the physical, cognitive and behavioral components of an emotional response. All exercises discuss thoughts, emotions and behaviors in a personality-specific way. In the second session, participants are encouraged to identify and challenge personality-specific cognitive distortions that lead to problematic behaviors. The NT intervention focuses on challenging negative-biased cognitions (i.e., generalization, internalization), whereas catastrophic cognitions are challenged in the AS intervention. The IMP intervention focuses on aggressive thinking and not thinking things through, while the SS intervention involves challenging cognitive distortions associated with reward-seeking and boredom-susceptibility. Students assigned to the control group receive no further intervention above the standard drug education sessions provided in the National Curriculum, which the intervention group will also receive.