Results of the 'in control: no alcohol!' pilot study.
More than 50% of Dutch 12-year olds already started drinking. Since it is known that delaying the onset of alcohol use results in a lower risk of alcohol-related problems, the recently developed 'In control: No alcohol!' prevention program is targeted at elementary school children and their mothers. In this pilot study, the success of program implementation and impact of the program on quality of alcohol-specific communication, rules and monitoring were evaluated, using a randomized controlled design. A total of 108 children (11-12 years) and their mothers participated in the prevention program, while the control group consisted of 105 dyads. Families participating in the experimental condition showed an increase in frequency of alcohol-specific communication and 75% of the dyads reported that they took part in at least 3 of 5 magazines, suggesting implementation was successful. The program led to an increase in quality of communication but only for those dyads in which mothers' alcohol use was above average. The program led parents to set up a non-drinking contract with their children and to monitor their children more closely. Results are promising but need to be replicated in a larger longitudinal study.