The purpose of the present study was to analyse if a community-based intervention has led to a decrease in alcohol-related accidents and violence, and whether this was mediated by a reduction in excessive drinking and frequency of distilled spirits consumption. We applied logistic regression analyses on cross-sectional, non-repeated data, which was collected from a questionnaire distributed in classrooms to all 9th graders from 1999 to 2001, and in 2003 (n = 1376, 724 boys and 652 girls; response rate = 92.3%). All alcohol abstainers (n = 330) were excluded from the analyses, making the sample 1046 individuals. The odds ratio for alcohol-related accidents was significantly lower, comparing the baseline year (1999) with 2003 (OR 0.5, 95% CI 0.27-0.76). There was also an indication that self-reported alcohol-related violence had decreased between 1999 and 2003 (OR 0.7, 95% CI 0.43-1.01). When controlling these estimates for excessive drinking and frequency of distilled spirits consumption, the differences between survey years were substantially reduced or even deleted. In conclusion, the decrease in alcohol-related accidents and violence among 15-16-year-olds in Trelleborg, between 1999 and 2002, is likely to be attributed to the identified reduction in excessive drinking and frequency of distilled spirits consumption. (A) Reprinted with permission from Elsevier.
Abstract