Contents

Too Smart To Start SmartSTATS: a Data Book

Introduction

Too Smart To Start is a public education initiative that provides research-based strategies and materials to professionals and volunteers at the community level to help them conduct an underage alcohol use prevention initiative. The materials are designed to help professionals and volunteers educate 9- to 13-year-olds about the harms of alcohol use and to support parents and caregivers as they participate in their children’s activities.

Too Smart To Start has three objectives:

• Increase the number of conversations that parents/caregivers and their 9- to 13-year-olds have about the harms of underage alcohol use
• Increase the percentage of 9- to 13-year-olds and their parents/caregivers who see underage alcohol use as harmful
• Increase public disapproval of underage alcohol use.

Little past research has focused on underage alcohol use and 9- to 13-year-olds. The problem of alcohol use has not been previously defined for this population, and data on older youth is being used as a substitute. Yet the 9- to 13-year-old population is unique in its experiences, attitudes, and beliefs, and there is a critical need to provide insight into underage alcohol use for this specific age group. The data in this book offers a clearer picture of the 9- to 13-year-old population, including their specific knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors in relation to alcohol.

This booklet contains information on characteristics of both youth and their parents, including factors such as knowledge, parental involvement, and peer norms, that can influence a child’s likelihood of being involved with substance use. Since some of these risk and protective factors can be impacted by youth’s exposure to this issue in the entertainment media, we have also included data on their media access and use as well as the portrayal of alcohol use in the media. Lastly, to help you develop a program based on sound public health principles and practice, we have included a discussion on using theories and models in the health communication process.

SmartSTATS provides data that can help you create the main messages, communication strategies, and activities of your program as you work toward achieving the objectives of the Too Smart To Start initiative. By familiarizing yourself with important characteristics of both 9- to 13-year-olds and their parents and caregivers, you can more effectively tailor your program to match their interests and needs.

SmartSTATS assists you with this process by including national-level information on topics such as knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about alcohol, underage alcohol consumption, and consequences of underage alcohol use.

Here are some ways SmartSTATS can help you:

• With the appropriate information at your fingertips, respond quickly to questions from parents, community groups, or the media about this issue.
• Select statistics to develop a more convincing case about the importance of this issue and the need for underage alcohol use prevention programs for this age group.
• Share information with parents to help them start a conversation with their children about underage alcohol use and prepare them for what youth in this age group may already know and do in relation to alcohol.
• Decide how to present your message or what media to use by reviewing data about the habits and preferences of the target audiences, such as their media access and use.
• For professionals and community volunteers facing budget and time constraints, save time and reduce the costs of research by utilizing this information. Or, use it to pinpoint gaps in knowledge and serve as a starting point for additional research about the target audiences in your community.
• Compare the information with existing local or national data to examine differences and trends or determine whether or not new information is representative of a population.