The purpose of this longitudinal study was to examine alcohol outcome expectancies among a cohort of 6th grade inner-city middle school youth. Subjects consisted of 434 youth from one neighborhood (n=157) and one magnet (bused) urban school (n=277) that completed a baseline and 3 annual follow-ups as part of a prevention study. Preliminary results indicate significant increases in positive alcohol outcome expectancies from 6th to 8th grade, including expectancies that alcohol makes people relax, makes parties more fun, makes people feel more romantic, and helps people keep their mind off problems at home (P’s=<.05). Also, significant differences were found between the two inner city schools (P’s=<.05) on expectancies that alcohol makes a person lose control and helps people keep their mind off problems at home. Implications of these findings for targeting specific alcohol outcome expectancies at different grade levels in future school-based prevention programs will be discussed.
Learning Objectives: 1. List four alcohol outcome expectancies that increase from 6th - 8th grade among inner-city youth. 2. Recognize the need for targeting specific alcohol outcome expectancies at different grade levels. 3. Identify differences in alcohol expectancies over time between neighborhood and magnet(bused) urban middle schools.
Keywords: Alcohol, Research
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.