Impact of Cross-Sectoral Alcohol Policy on Youth Alcohol Consumption.

OBJECTIVE Cross-sectoral alcohol policy is recommended to reduce youth alcohol consumption, but little evidence is available on its effectiveness. Therefore, we examined whether regions and municipalities in the Dutch province of Noord-Brabant with stronger cross-sectoral alcohol policy showed larger reductions in alcohol consumption among adolescents aged 12-15. METHOD Strong regional cross-sectoral alcohol policy was defined as participation in a regional alcohol prevention program. Strong municipal cross-sectoral alcohol policy was operationalized by measures on (a) sector variety: involvement of different policy sectors, and (b) strategy variety: formulation of different policy strategies. Relevant data from policy documents were searched for on the Internet. Data on trends in alcohol consumption were extracted from the 2007 and 2011 cross-sectional Youth Health Monitor that includes a random subset of adolescents aged 12-15 (n = 15,380 in 2007 and n = 15,437 in 2011). We used multilevel regression models. RESULTS Two of the three regions in which municipalities participated in a regional alcohol prevention program showed a larger reduction in weekly drinking than the region in which municipalities did not participate (-12.2% and -13.4% vs. -8.3%). Municipalities with strong compared to weak sector variety showed a larger increase in adolescents' age at consuming their first alcoholic drink (0.63 vs. 0.42 years). Municipalities with strong strategy variety showed a decrease (-3.8%) in heavy weekly drinking, whereas those with weak variety showed an increase (5.1%). Cross-sectoral alcohol policy did not affect trends in other alcohol outcomes. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that strong cross-sectoral alcohol policy may contribute to reducing some aspects of youth alcohol consumption. Monitoring policy implementation is needed to assess the full impact.

[1]  K. Bauman,et al.  Relationships of Adolescents’ Perceptions of Parental and Peer Behaviors with Cigarette and Alcohol Use in Different Neighborhood Contexts , 2009, Journal of youth and adolescence.

[2]  F. Smit,et al.  Preventing heavy alcohol use in adolescents (PAS): cluster randomized trial of a parent and student intervention offered separately and simultaneously. , 2009, Addiction.

[3]  E. Kuntschea,et al.  Characteristics of binge drinkers in Europe , 2016 .

[4]  T. Toomey,et al.  Effects of minimum drinking age laws: review and analyses of the literature from 1960 to 2000. , 2002, Journal of studies on alcohol. Supplement.

[5]  David Gleicher,et al.  Governance for health in the 21st century , 2012 .

[6]  R. Newcombe,et al.  Relations between alcohol, violence and victimization in adolescence. , 2006, Journal of adolescence.

[7]  Glenn I. Roisman,et al.  Developmental cascades: linking academic achievement and externalizing and internalizing symptoms over 20 years. , 2005, Developmental psychology.

[8]  K. Stronks,et al.  Manifestations of integrated public health policy in Dutch municipalities. , 2016, Health promotion international.

[9]  Joris J. van Hoof,et al.  Adolescent alcohol intoxication in the Dutch hospital Departments of Pediatrics. , 2010, Journal of studies on alcohol and drugs.

[10]  Elizabeth A. Goncy,et al.  Where and when adolescents use tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana: comparisons by age, gender, and race. , 2013, Journal of studies on alcohol and drugs.

[11]  M. Keshavan,et al.  Hippocampal volume in adolescent-onset alcohol use disorders. , 2000, The American journal of psychiatry.

[12]  T. Ståhl.  Health in all policies : Prospects and potentials , 2006 .

[13]  F. Smit,et al.  Family interventions and their effect on adolescent alcohol use in general populations; a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. , 2008, Drug and alcohol dependence.

[14]  Megan E. Patrick,et al.  Teenage alcohol use and educational attainment. , 2008, Journal of studies on alcohol and drugs.

[15]  Mir M. Ali,et al.  Social network effects in alcohol consumption among adolescents. , 2010, Addictive behaviors.

[16]  C. Roberts,et al.  School policies and binge drinking behaviours of school-aged children in Wales--a multilevel analysis. , 2007, Health education research.

[17]  C. Currie,et al.  Social determinants of health and well-being among young people: Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study: international report from the 2009/2010 survey. , 2012 .

[18]  Rainer Thomasius,et al.  Binge drinking in childhood and adolescence: epidemiology, consequences, and interventions. , 2009, Deutsches Arzteblatt international.

[19]  D. Ogilvie,et al.  Young people's access to tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs , 2005, BMJ : British Medical Journal.

[20]  M. Greenberg,et al.  Preventive Interventions Addressing Underage Drinking: State of the Evidence and Steps Toward Public Health Impact , 2008, Pediatrics.

[21]  A. Team.  Alcohol control policies and alcohol consumption by youth: a multi-national study , 2010 .

[22]  Amélia Cohn,et al.  Intersectoral governance for health in all policies - structures, actions and experiences , 2013 .

[23]  T. Harford,et al.  Developmental trends of adolescent drinking. , 1983, Journal of studies on alcohol.