Project Description

Context

Pre-adolescents (age 11-14) and young people are a population particularly at risk of alcohol abuse, as it is often perceived as a means of acceptance within the group. From a psychological point of view, the use and abuse of alcohol among pre-adolescents is often triggered by underlying factors related to identity building, acceptance by the group, conformity with the mainstream, fear of exclusion, bullying, rites of passage, challenging the authority etc. Pre-adolescence is also characterised by an increased use of electronic devices (e.g. smartphones, computers, videogames), interned-based services (e.g. social media, the Internet, internet based videogames, etc.) and an increased autonomy in their family and social life, all factors that play a role in shaping young people's minds.

At the same time, adults, including parents and educators, who should be responsible for guiding and educating the youth, struggle when put in front of the problem of alcohol abuse among pre-adolescents. On one side, they are not aware of the problem, as they think that is something concerning the youth at a later stage. On the other, they do not know how to deal with it: they have difficulties in reading the signals of potentially risky behaviours and, when they detect a situation of alcohol use or abuse, they do not know how to address it.

Objectives

The CUT! project will target directly pre-adolescent boys and girls in school, as they are the best target group to prevent at an early stage alcohol abuse and other risky behaviours. At the same time, parents, educators and psychological support staff are also directly targeted as they represent the two actors mainly involved in the growth and education of young people between 11-14.

Specific objectives include:
- Raise awareness on the issue of alcohol abuse
- Prevent risky behaviours eventually leading to alcohol abuse
- Develop response strategies to tackle the issue of alcohol abuse among pre-adolescents

Target Groups

The main target groups of the project are:
- 11 to 14 year-old students
- Families
- Psychological support staff
- Teachers

Activities

The project activities will be organized in the following phases:

Phase 1 – Video Series

This phase is devoted to carry out set of videos one targeted specifically to students, the other to parents, to deal with the topic of alcohol use and abuse. 

Phase 2 – Practical Guide

This phase consists in the implementation of a Practical Guide to lead teachers and psychological support staff working in schools in setting up and implement educational activities in schools.

Phase 3 – Lessons Learned and Policy Recommendations Report

This phase consists in a database of good practices, lessons learned and policy recommendations to inform and influence future policies on this topic at local, regional, national and EU levels.

Phase 4 – Training activity

A training course involving 7 participants from the partners’ countries is organized by AIDD – “Associazione Italiana contro la Diffusione del Disagio giovanile” in order to: promote the use of the intellectual outputs; provide the end users with the competences and information concerning the theme of alcohol abuse among students.

Phase 5 - Multiplier events

A number of multiplier events will be organized to disseminate the results reached, the methodology implemented and output produced in the CUT! project. The participants in the multiplier events will be teachers, psychological support staff and policy makers.

Expected Results

The main project deliverables include:

• CUT! Video Series
• CUT! Practical Guide
• CUT! Lessons Learned and Policy Recommendations Report