‘Safer Nights’: evaluation of a community-based prevention program directed to alcohol abuse and related risks

Abstract

The objective of this study is the evaluation of ‘Safer Nights’, a community-based prevention program directed to alcohol abuse and related risks among young adults, provided by the Youthboard of Cyprus to promote safer night life. Participants were 340 individuals (192 females; 17-35 years old) who answered a short self-administrated questionnaire regarding the evaluation of different aspects of the prevention program in a scale from 1 (not at all satisfied) to 5 (absolutely satisfied) and open-ended questions. The majority of participants reported that they were very satisfied (Mean score=3.94, SD=.71) about the theme and the content of the programme, the approach of the program facilitators and their presence in night entertainment venues, and the usefulness of information and material provided regarding alcohol abuse consequences. Significant differences in participants’ satisfaction about the program were found between genders, age and employment status groups. Content analysis indicated that individually-tailored information about alcohol and expanding the program’s content to other dangers of night entertainment were among others the predominant categories of participants’ suggestions. The above findings provide future directions in developing similar prevention programs.