Gender-Specific Intervention to Reduce Underage Drinking Among Early Adolescent Girls: A Test of a Computer-Mediated, Mother-Daughter Program

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Objective: This study evaluated a gender-specific, computer-mediated intervention program to prevent underage drinking among early adolescent girls. Method: Study participants were adolescent girls and their mothers from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. Participants completed pretests online and were randomly divided between intervention and control arms. Intervention-arm girls and their mothers interacted with a computer program aimed to enhance motherdaughter relationships and to teach girls skills for managing confl ict, resisting media infl uences, refusing alcohol and drugs, and correcting peer norms about underage drinking, smoking, and drug use. After intervention, all participants (control and intervention) completed posttest and follow-up measurements. Results: Two months following program delivery and relative to control-arm participants, intervention-arm girls and mothers had improved their mother-daughter communication skills and their perceptions and applications of parental monitoring and rulesetting relative to girls' alcohol use. Also at follow-up, intervention-arm girls had improved their confl ict management and alcohol use-refusal skills; reported healthier normative beliefs about underage drinking; demonstrated greater self-effi cacy about their ability to avoid underage drinking; reported less alcohol consumption in the past 7 days, 30 days, and year; and expressed lower intentions to drink as adults. Conclusions: Study fi ndings modestly support the viability of a mother-daughter, computer-mediated program to prevent underage drinking among adolescent girls. The data have implications for the further development of genderspecifi c approaches to combat increases in alcohol and other substance use among American girls. (J. Stud. Alcohol Drugs 70: [70][71][72][73][74][75][76][77] 2009)

Exploring Promising Gender-Sensitive Tobacco and Alcohol Use Interventions: Results of a Scoping Review

“…Additionally, because the majority of interventions were focused at the individual level and characterized by the design of randomized controlled trials (Bullock et al, 2009;Connor & Walitzer, 2001;de Guzman et al, 2006;Fang et al, 2010;LaBrie et al, 2007;Lewis & Neighbors, 2007;McLeod et al, 2004;O'Donnell et al, 2010;Reitzel et al, 2010;Schinke et al, 2009Schinke et al, , 2009aSchinke et al, , 2009bSchinke et al, , 2011, few addressed gender structures and norms, which were how we had envisioned gender-sensitive interventions. As a result, based on our criteria, studies that were included only addressed gender inequities at a superficial level, focusing on improving women's health at the individual level as opposed to the community and/or societal level.…”

“…Four of the six tobacco interventions (Bullock et al, 2009;Ferreira-Borges, 2005;McLeod et al, 2004;Reitzel et al, 2010) and 1 of the 13 alcohol interventions (Rasmussen et al, 2012) targeted pregnant women. Meanwhile, 8 of the 13 alcohol studies (de Guzman et al, 2006;Fang et al, 2010;Lewis & Neighbors, 2007;Rasmussen et al, 2012;Robert-Lewis et al, 2010;Schinke et al, 2009Schinke et al, , 2009aSchinke et al, , 2009bSchinke et al, , 2011 recognized that gender norms could play a significant role in alcohol treatment or prevention. Yet only one intervention (de Guzman et al, 2006) discussed how mothering may present barriers for treatment seeking including lack of access to child care, fear of losing children, stressful interactions with children, and disruption to the family system in parenting capacities as well as women's feelings of shame and guilt regarding their substance abuse (de Guzman et al, 2006).…”

“…Other articles suggested they have an understanding of how gender norms, roles, and relations affect girls and women differently than boys and men as well as the unique relationship between mothers and daughters (O'Donnell et al, 2010;Schinke et al, 2009Schinke et al, , 2009aSchinke et al, , 2009bSchinke et al, , 2011. For example, Roiblatt (2007) discussed the advantages of gender-specific treatments, such as how they are more attractive to female clients, are family focused (provide child-minding), prevent incidents of sexual harassment, and discuss women-specific issues.…”

“…Four of the tobacco interventions (Bullock et al, 2009;Ferreira-Borges, 2005;McLeod et al, 2004;WHO, 2007) and nine of the alcohol interventions (Connors & Walitzer, 2001;de Guzman et al, 2006;Fang et al, 2010;LaBrie et al, 2007;O'Donnell et al, 2010;Rasmussen et al, 2012;Robert-Lewis et al, 2010;Schinke et al, 2009Schinke et al, , 2011 engaged with the social determinants of women's health, primarily through a focus on improving social support. For example, Bullock et al (2009) conducted a social support intervention to reduce tobacco use that considered the needs of low-income women, with a particular focus on pregnancy and non-pregnancy-related stressors.…”

“…This experience stood in contrast to their personal relationships, for which they reported that such discussions were hampered by complex and challenging gendered norms and expectations (de Guzman et al, 2006). Other interventions aimed to prevent adolescent alcohol abuse by improving the mother-daughter and/or family relationship and addressing conflict management, addressing issues related to body image, attending to mood management, stress management, problem solving, and social influences as well as targeting the self-efficacy of the girls and their parents (O'Donnell et al, 2010;Schinke et al, 2009Schinke et al, , 2009aSchinke et al, , 2009bSchinke et al, , 2011.…”