A comparison of methods for alcohol and marijuana anticipatory guidance with adolescents

The purpose of this study was to compare adolescents' knowledge of alcohol after receiving either a computer-assisted instruction program or physician-delivered anticipatory guidance or no intervention. In addition, adolescents' satisfaction was compared between intervention groups. A total of 89 adolescents attending a general medical clinic were randomly assigned to one of three conditions. The participants were from low-to-middle income families, and the mean age was 15.5 years. A two-way analysis of variance found significant main effects for both group and sex. Those adolescents in both intervention groups were significantly more knowledgeable, and males demonstrated the highest knowledge scores. There was a significant interaction between group and sex, with females more satisfied with the computer-assisted instruction as compared to males who preferred anticipatory guidance. These data suggest that the use of computer technology during a well-adolescent health visit is effective and efficient in transmitting drug-related information.