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This study focused on evaluating the effectiveness of “Every 15 Minutes,” a popular drinking/driving prevention program. Participants were 1651 students in 81 California high schools. Pretest/post-tests comparisons revealed that student participating in the program as the “living dead” characters reported drinking less, being more likely to talk to their friends about drinking and driving, and being less likely to drive after drinking or ride with someone who had been drinking.

Introduction

Drinking and driving continues to be a major adolescent health and safety issue (O’Malley & Johnston, 1999). Despite declines in rates of adolescent drinking and driving, youth are still over-represented in alcohol-related traffic fatalities (NHTSA, 1998).

Numerous school and community based drinking and driving prevention programs have been instituted in response to the problems associated with adolescent drinking, with mixed results (Hansen, 1993). Kolaya and Grimes-Smith (1999) have stated that programs that rely on knowledge only may be limited. They insist that students must personalize learning to enable them to understand the effect of a behavior on their lives.

The “Every 15 Minutes” (E15M) program combined both school and community involvement during a two day program focused on high school students’ alcohol related behaviors. E15M programs have been presented at over 250 high schools in California since 1996. The program challenges high school students to think about their drinking, driving, personal safety, and the responsibilities of making mature decisions. E15M requires extensive involvement and cooperation among students, school officials, and community professionals (i.e., fire, police, emergency workers, health personnel).

Hover, Hover, and Young (2000) evaluated this program when it was presented in Springfield Missouri. Using a nearby comparison school, they found that the program did change student’s attitudes about drinking and driving but not behaviors. Although, a small focus group taken from the larger study, indicated that the E15M program was catalyst for conversations about alcohol behavior and may allow students to resist drinking and driving pressures.

This study focused on three aspects of adolescents’ behaviors that reflect the goals of the program: self-management (frequency/ amount of consumption), relations with peers in alcohol-related situations, and driving practices.

Methods
Sixteen hundred and fifty one students from 81 California high schools who participated in E15M as “living dead” completed pretests and post tests. They ranged in age from 14-20 years (mean: 16.8 years). The majority were upper class students: 53.1% seniors and 35.2% juniors. The group also included 6.5% sophomores and 4.8% freshman. In addition, 774 parents completed pretests and post tests.