New Guide Helps Identify at-risk Kids, 9-18.
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) has just released a guide for health care professionals to help identify children and teenagers age 9 to 18 who are at risk for alcohol-related problems, provide brief counseling, and refer them to treatment resources if that is indicated.
While aimed at professionals, the guide contains useful information for non-professionals and parents as well.
The evidence-based guide, Alcohol Screening and Brief Intervention for Youth: A Practitioner’s Guide, includes a two-question risk assessment as well as links to resources for motivational interviewing. NIAAA developed the guide and supporting pocket guide in collaboration with the American Academy of Pediatrics.
You can download or order the guide HERE
Interesting, but one thing occurs to me – the screening questions presume that the kids will answer honestly and truthfully, but the kids with the highest risk probably won’t. 😉 I know that if an adult had asked me at 15-16 if I had ever drank or gotten drunk, my response would have been “No, of course not, I hang out with my friends to listen to music and talk!” or something similar. I knew I was doing something “bad”, and would not have been honest with an adult, particularly a counselor. Suggests to me that old-fashioned parental sleuthing might be a better guide.