The Alcohol Literacy Challenge™ (ALC) revolutionizes classroom based prevention by changing alcohol expectancies and reducing the quantity and frequency of alcohol use among elementary, middle, high school and college students in only 1 classroom session lasting 50-90 minutes!
Key findings from the NREPP Program Review:
High School and College students receiving the ALC, compared with students in the control group, had significant decreases in:
- Average estimated BAC
- Average number of drinks consumed in one sitting
- Peak number of drinks consumed in one sitting
- Average number of drinking days per week
The Alcohol Literacy Challenge™ Is Effective Because It’s Backed By The Highest Quality Science
Alcohol expectancies are an individual’s beliefs about the anticipated effects of alcohol use. Over 1,000 studies have been published on Alcohol Expectancy Theory.
Challenging alcohol expectancies is only 1 of 3 programs NIAAA has found that meet Tier 1 standards for empirical research showing a reduction of alcohol abuse on college campuses. 1 In fact, given the strength of the research supporting challenging alcohol expectances as a prevention strategy, NIAAA predicted that classroom based prevention lessons challenge students alcohol expectancies would soon emerge.
Despite the extensive body of research that has related the expectancy concept to alcohol (and other drug) use and abuse, precise processes have only recently begun to emerge. . . Such approaches are only just beginning to be applied to the development of behavioral approaches to reduce the risk for excessive alcohol use and abuse.” 2
The Alcohol Literacy Challenge™ is the first classroom-based prevention program that specifically and systematically challenges students beliefs about the effects of drinking alcohol.
Students find out that the most desired effects of drinking—the arousing, positive, and pro-social effects—are placebo effects rather than pharmacological ones. The ALC corrects the erroneous beliefs about alcohol use promoted by the media, and thereby decreases positive and increases negative alcohol expectancies. These shifts in expectancies have been shown to lower levels of alcohol use.
The ALC research studies reviewed by NREPP received a 3.3 out of 4 points rating for their Quality of Research!
1 National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. (2002). A call to action:
Changing the culture of drinking in U.S. colleges. NIH Pub. No. 02-5010.
Bethesda, MD: NIAAA.
2 National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. (2004/2005). Alcohol and
Development in Youth — Multidisciplinary Overview (Volume 28, Number 3).
Bethesda, MD: NIAAA.
The Alcohol Literacy Challenge™ Works With ALL Cultures
The ALC is designed to challenge the unique expectancies of each participating student, allowing it to be used across different populations and cultural groups. Because the specific beliefs of the students receiving the curricula are challenged during an ALC lesson, the curricula automatically morphs to become culturally specific to each group of students using it.
The ALC is Easy to Implement
During a one-time ALC lesson, students learn about standard drinks, the range of alcohol expectancies, the difference between pharmacological effects and placebo effects, and efforts by alcohol companies to portray positive alcohol expectancies in advertisements. In the middle and high school versions of ALC, students also play a game assessing the alcohol effects portrayed in alcohol commercials.
The ALC is implemented by teachers or prevention specialists at the elementary, middle and high school levels. Prevention specialists or students peers can teach the ALC at the college level. A 5-hour training is required for programs implementing the ALC and provides all materials needed to deliver it.
Alcohol Literacy Challenge™ Pricing
The ALC is cost effective alcohol prevention program. Check out this chart comparing popular classroom-based alcohol prevention interventions and weigh for yourself the behavioral outcomes, the quality of research proving them, and the cost per student. Then consider the amount of school time needed to implement them. No other program comes close to the Alcohol Literacy challenge in cost-effectiveness!
License fee for 1 year use: $1 per student ($275 minimum allowing up to 10 presentations).
–required one time training fee of $5,000 (plus travel or webinar expenses).
[Sliding scale training fee to provide webinars for smaller agencies is available. Please call . Ask about discounts for large licences such as an entire school district or geographic region.]
Curriculum is delivered on Mac/Windows compatible CDs. Purchasing agency is responsible for duplication and distribution of software within its service area. Digital copies of the following are included:
- PowerPoint Slide Show with videos and sample alcohol advertisements
- Written script for presenting PowerPoint
- Bulleted Talking Points for each slide in PowerPoint
- Instructions and videos of ads for playing advertising expectancy game included in the Middle, High versions
- Activity Sheets for students to complete during presentation.
- Implementation Manual
5-hour Training Workshop includes these support tools:
- Free Recorded Booster & Skills Development Webinars for current staff and new program hires.
- Recorded video on the general theory behind challenging alcohol expectancies
- Quality Assurance Tools, including:
- Fidelity checklist
- Outcome measures
- Video streams demonstrating each lesson being presented
- Scientific efficacy validation tools for testing changes in expectancies, alcohol harms, and drinking behavior.
Contact Dr. DeBenedittis to order the Alcohol Literacy Challenge Curricula.