This research examines effectiveness of science communication in conveying harm reduction messages about alcohol to adolescents. The average age for initial experimentation with alcohol in New Zealand is 14.6 years – a vulnerable developmental age for the brain. Studies suggest that education should be initiated before drinking patterns have developed and should use interactive resources to have maximum chance of reducing harmful levels of alcohol consumption.
The objective was to test whether an interactive alcohol educational resource was more effective (as measured by participant understanding, preference and information retention) in comparison to a more traditional teaching resource. Two web-based resources aimed at year 10 students were developed that provide the same information. One resource provides information using plain text and images, mimicking many current educational resources. The other resource involves multimedia elements such as story, film, photography, diagrams, narration, animations and music.
Education about the effects of alcohol on the brain (delivered either in the multimedia, or the textbook format) resulted in a significant increase in knowledge, even three-six weeks after resource exposure (p<0.001, all medium-large effect sizes). When comparing resources, those who received the multimedia resource scored significantly higher in the knowledge test immediately after exposure (p<0.05, effect size = 0.09, small effect size). The student body as a whole preferred the multimedia resource with videos and stories, rather than plain text and diagrams alone (qualitative analysis).
When comparing analysis of socio-economic groups by decile ratings of schools the highest rated decile schools performed significantly better with the multimedia resource and maintained significant retention of information in comparison to those who received the traditional styled resource. Lower-rated decile schools performed significantly best with the traditional textbook styled resource. Results found that lower-rated decile classes who received the traditional resource have the best recall of information compared to all other decile ratings. Of those who received the traditional styled resource there was no difference in knowledge between the lowest and the highest-rated decile groups three-six weeks later. Results suggest that socio-economic decile ratings may provide indication of the style and cognitive load of resources that will promote the most effective meaningful learning.
