Focus Groups in the Prevention of Teenagers’ Alcohol Misuse

ABSTRACT The present study assessed the efficacy of focus groups (FGs) used as part of a prevention-action project targeting students in their first and second years of Italian high school (9th and 10th graders). A sample of 661 students was randomly divided into an experimental group participating in an FG activity and a control group only attending a brief informative meeting. Two questionnaires were administered to measure alcohol consumption and any psychopathological vulnerability, respectively, with test–retest modality. Among the most important results, 52.4% of students drank alcoholic beverages on Saturday evenings and this consumption increased with age; in addition, alcohol consumption was associated with psychobehavioral problems of the externalizing type. The FGs proved effective in reducing the known tendency for alcohol consumption to increase with age, in terms of both the frequency of ingestion of alcoholic beverages and the quantity of alcohol involved.