Kids and Adults Together
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Transcript of Kids and Adults Together
The role of parents in The role of parents in preventing alcohol misuse: an preventing alcohol misuse: an Evaluation of the Kids Adults Evaluation of the Kids Adults Together Programme (KAT)Together Programme (KAT)
Dr Jeremy SegrottDr Jeremy Segrott
Heather RothwellHeather Rothwell
Presentation outline
Background – young people and alcohol
Aims of the evaluation
Evaluation methods
KAT – background and aims
Analytical approach
Programme implementation
Acceptability
Initial impact
Discussion points
Concern about young people and alcohol – amount consumed; age of initiation
Range of health, social and educational impacts Recognition of the importance of protective and risk
factors located within the family Growing role of schools in substance misuse education Focus on harm reduction, involvement of parents and
targeting primary school children identified as important factors which increase effectiveness
Development of new programme by Gwent Police provided an important opportunity
IntroductionIntroduction
Aims of the evaluation
Evaluate development and early implementation of KAT
Establish the theoretical basis of the programme
Explore implementation processes and acceptability
Identify what the intended long term outcomes might be
Contribute to the evidence base in relation to alcohol misuse prevention programmes
Phase 1 examined programme’s development, theory and aims
Interviews with working group and documentary analysis
Phase 2 examined implementation
Observation of classroom preparation and fun evening
Focus groups with pupils
Interviews with working group, school staff and parents
Questionnaire to all parents who were invited to the fun evening
Methods
Background to KAT
Recognition of the need to involve parents in attempts to reduce alcohol misuse by young people
Australia Parents, Adults, Kids Together (PAKT) programme identified
Involves primary school children preparing for a ‘family forum’
PAKT had achieved high levels of engagement and acceptability but outcomes unclear
KAT retains structure of PAKT, but with addition of DVD (“Gone”)
PAKT and KAT are universal prevention interventions
Aims of KAT
Long term aim of reducing alcohol misuse among young people
Short term objective of encouraging discussion between parents
and their children
Variation among the Working Group about the programme’s
objectives
Programme addressed different needs within the group
Evaluation confirmed communication as the primary objective
Analytical approach
Social development model
Links family communication with later of alcohol use by children
Family environment contains risk and protective factors
Patterns of alcohol use learned through interaction with parents
Activities, perceived opportunities for interaction,
rewards/reinforcement, skills
Interaction develops parent-child bond which facilitates
reinforcement of young people’s behaviour by parental sanctions or
encouragement
Programme implementation
KAT delivered in two schools in 2008 in the Gwent Police area
Delivered to mixed Year 5 and 6 groups in School 1
Fun evenings comprised quizzes, plays/songs performed by the
children and displays of the children’s work
Drugs information stand
40-50 family members attended at each school
Goody bags contained the DVD, leaflets about alcohol, smoothie
recipes, and a sheet for parents (“Encouraging Your Child”)
Acceptability
High levels of acceptability among all groups
Pupils enjoyed KAT and saw it as fun
Parents found the fun evening informal and informative rather than
‘lecturing’ or singling out individuals
Delivering KAT in school to 9-11 year olds seen as appropriate
KAT fun evening open to multiple interpretations
Parents saw it as a way to find out what their children had been
doing at school
Initial impact: communication
Family conversations about parental drinking were key impact
Children attempted to change parents’ behaviour
KAT helped stimulate general discussion about alcohol or support
parents in their attempts to discuss it with their children Fun evening was catalyst for discussion about the work children had
done in school
Little discussion of school work by pupils before the fun evening
Many pupils keen to attend and put pressure on their parents
DVD extended influence of the programme and generated discussion
Initial impact: communication
HR: Carys, have you talked about [the fun evening] with your parents, or…
Carys: A little bit.
HR: Yeah, that’s since we last had the discussion group here, is it?
Carys: Yeah.
HR: And what sort of things did you talk about?
Carys: I told them they shouldn’t drink as much and they stopped it now.
HR: Oh right. Gosh! You’re very influential in your family are you?
Fiona: I talked to my grandpa about it too, coz he goes down the pub every
Monday and Friday to have a pint of beer, but I told him about it and
now he’s cutting down on alcohol.
(Focus Group 1, Feb 09)
Initial impact: knowledge
Most children gained new knowledge, but others still enjoyed KAT
Information on the legal framework around alcohol and government
guidelines (e.g. rules around drink driving)
Knowledge about the effects of alcohol on the self and others
Parents also gained new knowledge on these topics
General agreement between parents and pupils about what different
families members had learnt as a result of KAT
Information at the fun evening based on classroom work so pupils felt
they were ‘teaching their parents’
Initial impact: attitudes
Difficult to establish if KAT had changed children’s or parents’
attitudes
The study was not designed to measure ‘before and after’
changes
Overall, children held critical attitudes towards drinking alcohol and
believed in the importance of limits to drinking
Many believed it would be wrong or dangerous for them to drink
Some children enjoyed drinking alcohol (or drinks with alcohol in
them) and thought this might be acceptable on special occasions
Initial impact: awareness
Clear evidence that some pupils had deepened their
understanding of issues relating to alcohol
Realisation that alcohol was more than ‘just a drink’, and the
impacts that alcohol could have
Parental awareness about the influence of their own drinking
practices increased
KATFF raised awareness among parents of what their child’s
school was doing
Initial impact: awareness
Girl 1: I thought it was just like a drink you can have but you can’t have…but
now I know a lot more about it. And you learn a lot more about what
happens to you when you drink it
Girl 2: You know some of it but you definitely know more what can happen
to you and how it works, how alcohol is
Girl 1: I now understand what it can do to you if you have too much.
Girl 2: Yeah
HR: And had you not thought about that much before the KAT
programme?
Together: No, not really
(Focus Group 4, March 09)
Initial impact: intention
KAT had a small effect on intentions regarding future behaviour
Children’s intentions relating to future drinking
Parents’ decision to alter their drinking behaviour (e.g. not
drinking until the children were in bed)
Initial impact: drinking behaviour
Key issue for pupils was that KAT could reduce alcohol misuse by
adults
Some pupils reported behaviour change among their parents,
particularly reducing their alcohol consumption levels
Other family members also made changes, including those who had
not attended the fun evening
Impact on adult behaviour sustained at three months in some cases
Some parents also described having reduced their alcohol
consumption or making other changes to the way they drank
Discussion
Impact on knowledge & communication within the family is a key strength Children’s concerns about parents’ drinking made them active players, not
just recipients of knowledge Opened up opportunities for parents and children to engage in joint
activities, develop skills, and reinforced pro-social behaviour around
alcohol These forms of socialisation may help strengthen bonds within families
that increase the likelihood that children take on parental norms and
beliefs Capacity to extend beyond immediate families to broader networks well timed in terms of the development of alcohol-related behaviour in
young people
Discussion
KAT attracted large numbers of parents and high levels of acceptability
Did not stigmatise or alienate many families Research only explored the experience of those who took part
in KAT Engagement of fathers less successful than for mothers Programme reached some families with alcohol misuse issues Interaction between different programme components important Test the programme in different school and community settings Further research needed to refine programme theory, clarify key
outcome measures, and examine long term impacts
Acknowledgements
Alcohol Education and Research Council Lyn Webber, Mary Pinnell and members of the KAT working
group Pupils, staff and parents at both study schools Colleagues at CISHE