Project Northland I

Principal Investigator
Cheryl L. Perry, PhD, University of Minnesota

Funding
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

Objective
A randomized community-wide alcohol use prevention research trial that had the goal of preventing or reducing alcohol use among adolescents by using a multi-level, community-wide approach.

Method
Data were collected in 24 school districts and adjacent communities in northeastern Minnesota since 1991. The intervention targeted the class of 1998 (sixth grade students in 1991) and was implemented for three school years (1991 to 1994). It consisted of social-behavioral school curricula, peer leadership activities, parental education and involvement, and community-wide task force activities. Annual surveys of the class of 1998 measured alcohol use, tobacco use, and psychosocial factors.

Parent Postcard (2 sides)

Results
At the end of the three years, students in the intervention school districts reported less onset and prevalence of alcohol use than students in the reference districts. The differences were particularly notable among those who were nonusers at baseline.

Conclusion
The results of Project Northland I suggest that multilevel, targeted prevention programs for young adolescents are effective in reducing alcohol use.

Materials
Project Northland I classroom curricula and student, family, and community materials are available from Hazelden Publishing: http://www.hazeldenbookplace.org/

Publications
Perry CL, Williams CL, Veblen-Mortenson S, Toomey TL, Komro KA, Anstine PS, McGovern PG, Finnegan JR, Forster JL, Wagenaar AC, Wolfson M. Outcomes of a community-wide alcohol use prevention program during early adolescence: Project Northland. American Journal of Public Health. 1996;86(7):956-965.