Acceptability
Overall, KAT achieved high levels of acceptability among children, parents and school staff. Children had enjoyed KAT, particularly the classroom preparation which they described as 'fun' and as different from normal school work. The children also enjoyed learning about issues relating to alcohol. Parent interviewees liked the fun evening, saying it was interesting, non-judgmental and informative. They enjoyed the informality of the evening:
[...] it was a fun event, you know? You can go along to things, can't you, for smoking or whatever and it's going to be really serious and you know, you mustn't do this and you mustn't do that. But it was all fun and everybody was involved and nobody sort of felt the finger pointing at them. (M10 [parent], first interview)
Ten parent interviewees said they would attend another KAT fun evening if it was held again. They thought KAT was a good way of engaging with parents and that it was entirely appropriate that education about alcohol should be delivered at primary school. Responses from 21 questionnaire respondents who had attended the fun evening supported interview data (Table
6). Staff in both schools felt that the fun evening had been delivered in an appealing and non-stigmatising way. T4 and T5 (S2) pointed out that the way in which the evening was promoted as an opportunity for parents to find out what their children had been working on helped avoid a perception that it was designed to lecture parents. Whilst parent interviewees were positive about KAT, they may not have been representative of all the parents who took part. One child in a focus group at S2 said her mother had thought the fun evening was a "waste of time" (FG4) and some questionnaire respondents were not wholly enthusiastic, with five out of twenty-one saying they would not like to go to another KAT event. However, the head at S1 was certain that if parents had not liked the fun evening they would have left. Whilst most school staff and a member of the working group suggested that KAT might not have appealed to all parents who had current alcohol problems, one head teacher felt that such parents were unlikely to have been offended during the fun evening. Most questionnaire respondents (13 out of 17) who had not attended a fun evening indicated that this was due to other commitments, rather than negative perceptions of the event itself (see Table
6).
Table 6
Questionnaire responses to: Please read the following sentences about the alcohol awareness evening and tick ONE box on EACH LINE
It was a chance to meet up with friends | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 21 |
It was boring | 0 | 1 | 7 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 21 |
I liked everything about it | 5 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
It went on for too long | 1 | 1 | 4 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 21 |
I enjoyed seeing the displays of children's work | 6 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
The tea and cakes (S1)/refreshments (S2) were good | 2 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 21 |
There was nothing I liked about it | 0 | 1 | 7 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 21 |
It was fun | 6 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
It was good to talk openly about alcohol issues | 8 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
I would like to go to another KAT event | 5 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
Potential impacts of KAT
Knowledge
Children in all but one (FG6) of the focus groups described having gained new knowledge about alcohol, including the legal framework surrounding alcohol and key government guidelines, such as the rules on and consequences of drink driving. They had also learnt about the physical impacts upon the body of alcohol, how consumption affected individuals' behaviour, and the effects on other people. Much of this knowledge was anchored within descriptions of the particular activities they had undertaken, such as drama performances, or creating posters.
Children in four focus groups (FG1, FG2, FG4 and FG7) believed that their parents had acquired new knowledge as a result of attending the fun evening, and this was mainly conceptualised around their individual drinking practices and awareness of the impacts of alcohol, rather than in terms of broader parental practice or supervision. Children in Focus Groups 1 and 2 thought parents had been surprised by many of the answers to the questions during the fun evening quizzes, and some of the children felt that they had been teaching their parents new information. Knowledge at the fun evening was based largely on what had been learnt in the classroom preparation:
Child 1: I thought it was really good because we found out a lot about alcohol.
Child 2: And it's like teaching parents more about it, and it was really good teaching the parents about it. (Focus group 1, first meeting)
Teachers 1 and 2 felt that the fun evening 'summed up' the work that had been done in class, that the children were keen to show off their knowledge to their parents, and that parents had learnt from their children. They were impressed at how much the children had remembered, and pointed out that much of their knowledge had come from their own research in class, rather than simply being told key facts and figures.
The perceived impact of KAT on parental knowledge was discussed in nine of the twelve interviews conducted with parents (eight mothers and a father). In five of these interviews parents described having acquired new knowledge relating to the effects of alcohol (such as time taken for alcohol to pass through the body), the law on minimum ages of consumption, recommended maximum safe consumption levels, and statistics on the number of young people treated in hospital for alcohol-related injury/illness.
Most of the knowledge acquired by parents appeared to derive from the fun evening, particularly the quizzes and the commentary provided by the compere. One mother neatly captured the way in which her child had shared their learning in class with her:
Parent: I knew a lot of the answers [in the quiz] because my daughter had told me.
HR: What, she'd talked about what she was doing in school had she?
Parent: Yes, and how many units of alcohol you're allowed and um, all the different things, so like I said she has been quite well informed. (M4 [parent], first interview)
Attitudes
There was little evidence that involvement in KAT had led to perceived changes in children's attitudes. Participants in the focus groups discussed their attitudes towards alcohol, but these may have pre-dated KAT, or have been created or modified by it. Overall the children held critical attitudes towards alcohol and its effects. Children in four focus groups (FG1, FG4, FG5 and FG7) were generally disapproving of the negative effects of alcohol consumption, and talked about the importance of their not drinking. But at other points the children focused specifically on the idea of limits to safe or acceptable drinking levels/frequency. Children in four focus groups (FG1, FG3, FG4 and FG7) felt there were circumstances in which it would be acceptable for them to drink small amounts of alcohol, such as a sip at Christmas, and/or described enjoying consuming alcohol (or drinks containing alcohol) such as shandy and wine. There was little evidence that KAT had prompted parents to change or adopt new attitudes towards alcohol. Four parents (M2, M4, M5 and M7) who talked of being worried about the dangers of alcohol and the use of alcohol by their children held pre-existing concerns or attitudes. The programme may have reinforced or validated their concerns, but it had not produced a shift in their thinking.
Awareness
Some focus group participants described how they had deepened their understanding of alcohol-related issues after taking part in KAT. For instance, they realised that alcohol was not 'just a drink' but could produce certain effects on the human body. They also felt that they had a better understanding of the importance of not drink driving, and the consequences it could have. Some children said KAT had made them think about issues around alcohol they had not considered before (FG7, second meeting).
KAT had impacted on parents' perceived awareness, both in relation to key facts around alcohol (e.g. maximum recommended consumption limits) and in prompting them to think about new issues:
What do I remember? The quiz ... quizzes that asked us questions and they made us very aware of what we didn't know [laughs]. Um, oh, um, the drugs that were on show. Well I've never been involved in drugs so that was quite an eye opener. [...] it made me more aware of what I didn't know, to be honest. (M4 [parent], second interview)
Discussions in four focus groups (FG1, FG2, FG3 and FG7) and interviews with four parents (M1, M6, M8 and M11) suggested that some parents had started to think about their own drinking practices, particularly how drinking alcohol in front of their children could influence them. Six parents (F1, M2, M3, M4, M9 and M10) also felt that the programme had increased their children's awareness of the issues surrounding alcohol. Staff in both schools believed that KAT had increased parents' and children's awareness of some of the main issues relating to alcohol consumption and misuse.
Intention
Evidence from participants suggested that KAT had had little perceived influence on intentions regarding future behaviour. Intentions were mentioned by children at four focus groups, by three parent interviewees and by one child during the classroom preparation. When children talked about their own intentions they said they would drink moderately, if at all, when they were older. However, one mother was sceptical about her own children's intentions to abstain from alcohol:
... A couple of times they've come up and said 'We're never having a drink'. I said 'Well no you will... you've got to experiment, all teenagers experiment ...' (M9 [parent], second interview)
A child in one focus group reported her mother's intention to drink less when she went out with friends (FG1, second meeting); one parent interviewee said she would change her own drinking behaviour (M1 [parent], first interview), and another reported her husband's intention to cut down on alcohol (M11 [parent], second interview). Two participants reported intentions unrelated to alcohol - healthy eating inspired by the smoothie recipes (Child in FG 1, first meeting) and not running away from home after seeing what happened to children in the DVD (M1 [parent], first interview).
Communication
The KAT programme's most significant and persistent potential impact on communication was its perceived effect on family conversations about parental drinking. Children in four focus groups (1, 3, 6 and 7) who thought their parents drank too much alcohol reported trying to change their parents' behaviour. This was found at both schools, and was reported immediately and three months after the fun evenings:
HR: [...] you said you talked to your parents after the last [focus group]. What sort of things have you talked to them about?
Child: Well, I said that um... well my mother gotta stop keep on drinking .... (Focus Group 3, second meeting)
Children in Focus Group 4 agreed that "If the parents drink too much, it [KAT] will help you". The children's sense of the programme's relevance to their parents also worked the other way: they did not think that they needed to talk to non-drinking parents about KAT. But parents who drank little or no alcohol thought KAT had been useful in bringing forward discussion about a topic which might otherwise not have come up until later on. And in homes where parents and children already had ongoing discussions about alcohol, two parents (M2 and M6) felt that KAT had supported what they were already telling their children.
At both schools the fun evening appeared to have acted as a catalyst for conversations about what children had done in the classroom and activities during the evening. Parents and children helped each other to answer questions and children told their parents about the work on display. For some, conversations about the fun evening activities and topics went on beyond the event, but this seemed to have occurred more often at S1 than at S2. At S1, eight children from all focus groups and three parents reported conversations just after the event, with only one child saying that they had not talked about it afterwards. At S2, four children in two focus groups and two parents said they had talked about the fun evening later on and nine children said that they had not talked about it.
After three months, less difference was found between the schools. Three parents from S2 (F1, M10 and M9) reported that children were remarking on things they might not have been aware of before, such as noticing people who were drunk in the street, and children in two focus groups (1 and 3) at S1 said that they had talked about KAT/alcohol-related topics at home since the first meeting. One mother also noticed a difference in her husband's approach to alcohol issues: "I think he talks about it more openly and it is something that we can sort of chat about now whereas before he might not have done." (M10 [parent], second interview)
The DVD helped to extend the influence of the programme beyond the school-based components. Children in two focus groups (1 and 2) at S1 said they had been keen to watch it and for friends and family members to join them; and two parents (M5 and M6) reported that their children had watched the DVD more than once. One child had left the DVD ready for her parents' friends to watch when they visited her home (M1). The children had talked at home about what happened in the DVD, how alcohol could affect people, or just whether they had enjoyed it or not. During all the focus groups children discussed the DVD story at length, giving opinions on the characters and their behaviour, and it was clear that those who had not watched it had had the story explained to them and were able to join in conversations about it. All questionnaire respondents who had watched the DVD (n = 14), from both schools, said they had talked about it afterwards.
The classroom preparation appeared to be effective in promoting communication about alcohol issues amongst members of the class, and five parents (M1, M6, M7, M8, and M9) said their children had talked about it at home. However, two parents (F1 and M10) reported that children had 'mentioned' the class work but no more, and five parents (M2, M3, M5, M7 and M11) said their children had said nothing to them. A child in one focus group (FG7) said they had deliberately 'kept it quiet' so that it would be a surprise at the fun evening. Most children were very keen to go to the fun evening, to show off their work, to see what it was like and to enjoy the refreshments and entertainment. Four parents (M1, M4, M7 and M10) said their children had put pressure on them to attend:
I went along because [child] was saying 'We're having this evening, you've got to come, Mam'. Otherwise I might not have gone because personally I wouldn't have felt I needed to be aware of alcohol because I'm very aware of it. (M4 [parent], second interview)
Children in four focus groups talked about having 'made' or 'forced' their parents to go, and two parents (M8 and M9) who did not seem to have been pushed into it said they went simply because their children were keen to go.
Behaviour
Whilst KAT originated in concern about the number of young people misusing alcohol, many focus group discussions revealed children's concern about adult drinking behaviour and that they thought one of the good things about KAT was its potential to reduce the number of adults misusing alcohol. Straight after the fun evening changes in parental behaviour were discussed by children in all focus groups at S1. Six children talked about favourable changes which they perceived to have resulted from KAT. One said that "My dad used to drink a bit, he used to have a couple of cans a night, but he only has like two now, or something like that." (Focus Group 2, first meeting) Another child said her grandfather had started to drink less since she had talked to him about the bad effects of alcohol.
The laminated sheet 'Encouraging your children' had affected some parents' behaviour and it was interesting that this child interpreted 'listening' to mean listening to his concerns about the amount they were drinking:
HR: And (4), what do you think, have your parents been listening to you more since they read it?
Child: Yeah, they, they drank less at night now. (FG1, first meeting)
Three months later, parents' drinking behaviour was discussed again at all the focus groups in S1, and also by one group (Focus Group 7) at S2. Four children reported favourable changes in parental drinking behaviour. However not all parents had responded. Two children reported no change, one commenting "They still don't listen to me."
Children in one focus group also talked about their own experience of different types of alcoholic drinks and one pupil said she had changed her behaviour by diluting the alcohol strength of the shandy she drank (Focus Group 3, second meeting). However, other children in the same group did not seem to have reflected on their own alcohol consumption or experienced any increased parental limitations.
Evidence of perceived behaviour change also came from parents. Two mothers talked about this during the first interviews, and four during the second. One felt that KAT had had a lasting effect on her and the DVD had played a part in this: "Because it does frighten me, especially with the DVD when you think you know that you have gone to bed and the kids are, you know... I have cut down with my drinking." (M11 [parent], Second interview) However, others said there had been no impact on their own (M3 [parent], second interview), their partner's (M5 [parent], second interview) and their teenage son's (M7 [parent], first interview) immoderate drinking.