Background: The Prototype Willingness Model (PWM) may offer an appropriate basis for explaining and preventing adolescent alcohol misuse. An intervention was developed using a co-production approach, and consisted of an online quiz featuring 10 questions linked to PWM. Objectives: This study sought to determine the acceptability and relevance of the intervention content to young people, in order to incorporate their feedback into a final version. Methods: A qualitative think aloud study with follow up semi-structured interviews was undertaken with 16 young people aged 11-15 (50% female), Transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis. Results: Three main themes relating the acceptability of the intervention were identified; ‘challenging expectations of alcohol education’; ‘motivations for drinking or not drinking’ and ‘the inevitability of drinking’. Participants found the intervention appealing because it was counter to their expectations. The content appeared to reflect their experiences of social pressure and drinking encounters. There was evidence that a focus on drinker/non-drinker prototypes was too narrow and that because adolescents perceived drinking as inevitable, it would be challenging to enact any plans to resist pressure to drink. Conclusions: An online intervention based on the PWM has the potential to engage and interest adolescents. A wide range of alcohol prototypes should be targeted and a focus on short term harms should ensure that the intervention is credible to young people.
Davies, E Martin, JFoxcroft, D
Faculty of Health and Life Sciences\Department of Psychology, Social Work and Public Health
Year of publication: 2015Date of RADAR deposit: 2016-02-05