Alcohol Misuse Prevention Study (AMPS)

Guide to Effective Programs
for Children and Youth

Alcohol Misuse Prevention Study (AMPS)

OVERVIEW

The Alcohol Misuse Prevention Study (AMPS) is a five-day, school-based education and skills-building program designed to decrease alcohol abuse among high-schoolers. An experimental study indicates that the program worked in the short-term to decrease serious offenses (substance use, reckless driving), but that effects dissipated after program end.

DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM

Target population: High school students

The AMPS curriculum was implemented and evaluated in 10^th-grade classes in six school districts in southeastern Michigan between 1988 and 1990 (Shope, Elliot, Raghunathan, & Waller, 2001). The AMPS curriculum consisted of five 45-minute sessions over five consecutive days, and was designed to raise student awareness of the short-term repercussions of alcohol use, of the risks associated with alcohol misuse, and of commonly encountered alcohol use situations and social pressures. The program also aimed to teach students useful skills for dealing with these common pressures and situations. Curriculum activities and materials included worksheets, pamphlets, games, class discussions, role-plays, and use of audio-visual materials.

EVALUATION(S) OF PROGRAM

Evaluated population: The 4,635 10^th-grade students were 83% white and 17% nonwhite, and the vast majority obtained their driver’s licenses within one year of the intervention, on average at age 16.4.

Classes were randomly assigned to the program or control groups. Participants who procured a driver's license by June 1997 were included in the present analysis of state-reported outcome data for traffic offenses and MVCs between 1986 and 1997. During the first year of licensure only, program students experienced fewer serious offenses when compared with control students. Relevant offenses included those that involved alcohol, were classified as "serious" by the Secretary of State's office (such as reckless driving or vehicular homicide), led to the assignment of three or more points to the driver, or concerned drug offenses not associated with driving. The program effect was stronger among students who reported drinking less than one drink per week at baseline and among the small minority of students whose parents had not shown disapproval of alcohol use. The dissipation of impact after the first year of licensure suggests that booster sessions may be indicated.

SOURCES FOR MORE INFORMATION

References:

Shope, J.T., Elliott, M.R., Raghunathan, T.E., & Waller, P.F. (2001). Long-term follow-up of a high school misuse prevention program's effect on students' subsequent driving. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 25(3), 403-410.

Program also discussed in the following Child Trends publication(s):

Hatcher, J. L., & Scarpa, J. (2002). Encouraging teens to adopt a safe, healthy lifestyle: A foundation for improving future adult behaviors (Research brief). Washington, DC: Child Trends.

Hatcher, J. L., & Scarpa, J. (2001). Background for community-level work on physical health and safety in adolescence: Reviewing the literature on contributing factors. Washington, DC: Child Trends.

SUMMARY & CATEGORIZATION

Program categorized in this guide according to the following:

Evaluated participant ages: 10^th-graders / Program age ranges in the Guide: 15-21

Program components: School-based

Measured outcomes: Behavioral problems

Program information last updated 12/1/01.