Alcohol Screening and Brief Intervention for Adolescents: The How, What and Where of Reducing Alcohol Consumption and Related Harm Among Young People
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AIM: The aim of the study was to explore the evidence base on alcohol screening and brief intervention for adolescents to determine age appropriate screening tools, effective brief interventions and appropriate locations to undertake these activities. METHODS: A review of existing reviews (2003-2013) and a systematic review of recent research not included in earlier reviews. RESULTS: The CRAFFT and AUDIT tools are recommended for identification of 'at risk' adolescents. Motivational interventions delivered over one or more sessions and based in health care or educational settings are effective at reducing levels of consumption and alcohol-related harm. CONCLUSION: Further research to develop age appropriate screening tools needs to be undertaken. Screening and brief intervention activity should be undertaken in settings where young people are likely to present; further assessment at such venues as paediatric emergency departments, sexual health clinics and youth offending teams should be evaluated. The use of electronic (web/smart-phone based) screening and intervention shows promise and should also be the focus of future research.
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There is a lack of evidence on screening tools in young adults.
“There is a lack of evidence on screening tools in young adults (Jonas et al. 2012; Patton et al., 2014).”
From Effectiveness of Nurse-Practitioner-Delivered Brief Motivational Intervention for Young Adult Alcohol and Drug Use in Primary Care in South Africa: A Randomized Clinical Trial (2014) · cites this paper as Patton et al., 2014
The Discussion (page not provided) says alcohol screening has been mostly studied in older adolescents and young adults aged 18–24. It identifies the evidence gap as the validity of screening methods in younger adolescents, not a lack of evidence in young adults. (LLM, conf=0.84)
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Cites
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- Authors
- Patton, R., Deluca, P., Kaner, E., Newbury-Birch, D., Phillips, T., & Drummond, C.
- Affiliations
- King's College London (GB)
- Newcastle University (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Patton, Robert
- Venue
- Alcohol and Alcoholism
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2013-11-13
- Volume
- 49
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 207-212
- ISSN
- 0735-0414 (ISSN-L)
- 1464-3502
- PMC
- PMC3932830
- OpenAlex
- W2155492281
- Cited by
- 112
- References
- 8
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 11 · 2017: 22 · 2016: 19 · 2015: 17 · 2014: 9
- FWCI
- 1.78
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by-nc-nd
- Locations
- Alcohol and Alcoholism (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Teesside University Research Portal (Teesside University) (publishedVersion)
- Repository@Hull (Worktribe) (University of Hull) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
- Research Portal (King's College London) (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Repository@Hull (Worktribe) (University of Hull) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- TeesRep (Teesside University) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute for Health and Care Research (RP-PG-0609-10162, 13/86/03, CDRF 2009-81, HTA/13/86/03)
- Medical Research Council (MR/K02325X/1)
- Menzies Centre for Australian Studies, King's College London, University of London
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Smoking Behavior and Cessation
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pathology and Forensic Medicine › Alcohol Consumption and Health Effects
- Keywords
- alcohol screening, brief intervention, adolescents, alcohol consumption, alcohol-related harm, CRAFFT, auditing, motivational interventions, healthcare settings, educational environment, pediatric emergency department, sexual health clinics, youth offending teams, web-based screening, smartphone-based intervention
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adolescent Behavior, Alcohol Drinking, Humans, Mass Screening, Risk Assessment, Harm Reduction
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