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Behavioral Self-Control Training (BSCT)
A behavioral training program for high school students.
Behavioral Self-Control Training, a school-based alcohol misuse prevention program, includes individual peer counseling, self-monitoring, self-contracting, and group educational classes. A pilot test of this intervention was conducted among thirty high school students using a three-arm randomized control trial design, comparing combinations of these components. Outcomes consisted of self-reported behavioral variables supported by blood alcohol concentration testing and school reports collected at 5 times during a 12-month follow-up period.
Outcomes
Significantly lower alcohol consumption over time but no differences among intervention groups.
Participants in all three groups reported a decrease in frequency of alcohol use, number of drinks containing alcohol consumed, and peak blood alcohol concentration. There were no differences among treatment groups, but groups receiving peer counseling only, without self-control training or alcohol education, showed the greatest change in frequency of drinking.
Costs
Moderate costs for initial implementation and low ongoing cost of program.
Assuming access to school infrastructure, the ongoing costs for the program would be relatively low, after moderate initial costs to train peer counselors, purchase machines to test blood alcohol concentration, and create educational materials.
Cultural Engagment
None.
Participants
Adolescent, Young Adult; Native; Female, Male
Setting
School
Delivery
Individual, Small Group, Medium Group, Face-to-Face
Students attending residential high school.
Native students identified by school personnel as having emerging drinking problems (average age 16.2 years, 15 female, 15 male) participated at a residential high school.
Staffing Needs
Community Member
Fellow students served as peer counselors.
Two peer counselors selected by school and program staff received training and delivered the intervention.
Research Design
Randomized controlled experimental design
Developmental stage of research
Early Stage. Pilot study provided limited support for this moderation-oriented prevention intervention.
The promising evidence provided by this study is limited by the small and potentially biased sample size, lack of a no-treatment group and community input, and reliance on self-report. Implementation within a much larger sample is required.
Potential
Promising findings need to be clarified in a larger study.
School-based interventions incorporating peer supports are promising models. Findings from this pilot study indicate that alcohol education classes and self-contracting may not add value to basic peer counseling and self-monitoring and could potentially be eliminated. Addressing community input and cultural fit, the intervention has potential for effective implementation in other communities.
References
Carpenter RA, Lyons CA, Miller WR. Peer-managed self-control program for prevention of alcohol abuse in American Indian high school students: A pilot evaluation study. Int J Addict. 1985;20(2):299-310. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/4008123. https://doi.org/10.3109/10826088509044912.
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