ABSTRACT. Across Europe many states are experiencing severe pressures on public services, both from escalating need and from diminishing budgets. As a result there is increasing interest in understanding how much is spent on services for children, and, importantly, to what effect. In spite of a requirement in Article 4 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child for states to establish a children's budget, progress has been slow.

As part of an approach to help public systems increase their investment in evidence-based prevention and early intervention, the Dartington Social Research Unit has developed a method of mapping expenditure across all parts of children's services (education, social care, health, youth offending, early years). Suitable for use at national and local levels, the output provides a strong foundation for discussions about the balance of expenditure (prevention, early intervention and treatment), opportunities for de-commissioning and for the extent to which money is spent on evidence-based interventions.

The presentation will describe the method and share findings from a recently published report on fund-mapping in Northern Ireland, UK, and offer insights into the relevance of the method and findings for other jurisdictions.

ABSTRACT. Experience teaches us that trainings that don’t keep into account the needs and points of view of the final recipient can be less effective than approaches that involve the trainees. Active participation of targets in designing a training tool can be a key factor for its success. In the present case the training tool is a guide to help trainers in developing training courses. It’s one of the outputs of the second phase of a European project aimed to disseminate the European Drug Prevention Quality Standards (EDPQS), built by the EDPQS Partnership in the first phase. We chose to adopt a target involvement approach in order to promote the best impact and use of the training tool. We think that an active involvement of the targets - that in this case are policy makers, drug prevention practitioners and university students - contributes to build a tool that is more representative of the different needs and perspectives, user-friendly and effective. At the same time this process allows an acknowledgement of the different kinds of expertise and a sense of ownership of the tool. All these factors should facilitate the adoption and the dissemination of the trainer’s guide by the people working in the field of drug prevention. In the presentation, the involvement process is discussed in terms of: the recruitment of the stakeholders, the ways adopted to develop the trainer’s guide, the timing and the final results.

ABSTRACT. The existence of multiple standards for drug prevention, published by different national and international organizations, might seem redundant and confusing at a first glance. This paper aims to explain the rationales of the different standards and that they differentially respond to specific challenges of each of the three main components of a prevention system: interventions, services and people. Effectiveness standards can improve the effectiveness of programs and interventions, while process standards can improve the context within which effective programs and interventions are implemented. The variety of the existing standards and their different level of exigencies can be beneficiary if policy makers apply them in combination - i.e. choosing effective interventions and assuring that they are properly implemented and accepted - and in the appropriate cultural and geographic context. Other international organizations involved provide additional support such as certified training and online resources. Taken together, these initiatives might pave the way for setting up accreditation systems, in some countries, and help to assure that prevention providers take up such effective interventions and that prevention professionals are capable of implementing and willing to use them. All this requires however the political will to actually implement these standards since it implies revising, challenging and improving customary prevention systems with often traditional approaches.

ABSTRACT. Background: in Italy impact of prevention activities of behavioral risk factors is not evaluated and many implemented interventions are not supported by evidence of efficacy/effectiveness, with unpredictable effects on the prevention practice. Objective: to design a model of identification of “best practices” for prevention activity. Method: we reviewed the different interpretations of best practice concept in the scientific literature and we discussed this concept and his meanings with some Italian prevention experts. Results: best practice term evokes a great variability of interpretations and meanings which we can attribute to two major complementary visions: “best practice” as an evidence-based practice and “best practice” as a process. The concept of best practice recalls different aspects of prevention action and sometimes it is not linked to the concept of efficacy/effectiveness. Also, best practice concept is frequently abused and misunderstood. Conclusion: there is a high risk of implementing intervention called “best practice” but with unpredictable, also iatrogenic, effects. To solve the issue of the heterogeneity of definitions we suggest the adoption of a new term to indicate actions (evaluable sections of intervention, of a program or of a strategy of action) that aim at the prevention of risky behaviors: Ipest, an Italian acronym for indicate the concept of efficacy, sustainability and transferability of interventions to the national context. The creation of a repository of Ipest could support policy makers and professionals of public health systems.

ABSTRACT. Background: After 4 years since formulating and publishing of model for quality assessment for professionals in prevention decided the Ministry of education to test this model. For many years we have solved in the Czech Republic a significant complication how to assess a qualification of preventive workers (professionals in prevention of school behaviour) not only because it is a component of quality standards and quality assessment in prevention but also because of safety and economical issues. During 2010-2012 were created an original model of 4 qualification levels (Charvat et. al, 2012) in school prevention. The model was created on the basis of analysing the content of the documents dedicated to school prevention training (laws, decrees, training programme syllabi and guidelines, their creation, etc.) and on the basis of four focus and working groups consisting of the foremost experts in primary prevention in the Czech Republic. The proposal concerns 4 qualification levels arranged hierarchically by the degree of complexity, which correspond with the typical positions of a prevention practitioner in the school system. The objective is to present results from first real testing of this model in practice in 4 regions of the Czech Republic. We had 103 professionals in the research sample and sorted them into the 4 levels according to published Manual of 4-level model. All professionals (teachers, psychologist etc.) we assessed through the suggested procedure (Charvat et. al, 2012). Methods: For evaluation we used an adopted WHO guideline for process evaluation (WHO, 2000; Neaman et al., 2000). We analysed and assessed: (a) all materials (textbooks etc.) what professionals used, (b) testing procedure and its technical aspects, (c) documentation of testing procedure, (d) results of pilot testing of professionals, sustainability and (e) feasibility for potential further implementation in the Czech Republic. Results: We found inconsistency in requirements and set of training materials where is necessary better and more exact definition what are requirements for theoretical test (exact list of questions and theoretical areas). Description of knowledge, skills and competencies is necessary improve and clarify. Testing procedure needs standardisation (too wide space for different interpretation leaded to very different procedures in different regions). In the case of further implementation is necessary to train staff (members of testing commissions) from all regions together and use similar training procedures and model situations. Support: GAČR no. 13-23290S; Institutional support from Programme No. PRVOUK-PO3/LF1/9.

ABSTRACT. Joint Action on Reducing Alcohol Related Harm is an initiative under the EU health programme to take forward the work in line with the first EU Strategy on alcohol related harm. The work is carried out through a cooperation by expert organisations from 31 European countries. RARHA’s Work Package 6 aims to present a Tool Kit of interventions that have demonstrated their effectiveness, transferability and relevance. The questionnaire to collect the examples of good practices was developed, which consists of six sections: Evidence base, Basic facts, Development, Implementation, Evaluation and Additional information. In the communication with MS representatives and WP 6 partners we decided to collect the examples of good practices appertain to one of the three groups of interventions: Early interventions, Public awareness and School-based interventions. Using JA RARHA network and CNAPA we have searched for professionals experienced in alcohol related interventions, with a good overview and knowledge on interventions in their country, to provide reliable data at country level. From 32 Countries, 48 cases were collected, 43 with evidence base. Among cases with evidence base (n= 43), early interventions represented most of the collected cases (49 %), followed by School-based interventions (30 %) and Public awareness/education interventions (21 %). A vast majority (49 %) of evidence based interventions were founded from National/regional/local government and mostly implemented on national level (35 %), followed by implementation on national, regional and local level together (19 %). Mostly the implementation of the interventions was continuous (integrated in the system) (63 %). The collected interventions targeted predominately adolescents (22 cases), parents (17 cases), young adults (15 cases) and adults and general population (13 cases both). The preliminary data presented will facilitate exchange between MS public health bodies of evidence-based interventions to reduce alcohol related harm.

ABSTRACT. Introduction: Heavy alcohol use and violent behaviors at sporting events are of increased concern in Sweden and abroad. The relationship between alcohol use and violence is firmly established. Specifically, community-based alcohol interventions provide a promising strategy to reduce alcohol use and violence at sporting events. Knowledge is lacking, however, about the levels of alcohol use at sporting events in Sweden. Objective: To assess the level of alcohol use at football arenas in Sweden. Method: A pre- and posttest study design with two sites: Stockholm (project area) and Gothenburg (control area). The data collection is currently ongoing. Eighteen research assistants, divided into six teams, collect data at football arenas at each site. Spectators are randomly selected and invited to participate in the study. Alcohol use is measured using a breath analyzer for Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) levels. Additional data on gender, age, and recent alcohol use are collected through face-to-face interviews. Results: Data from approximately 3000 spectators will be collected in total. The study will report baseline data on average BAC levels in the total sample, among participants with BAC levels >0.00%, and among male and female participants, respectively. Furthermore, the number of participants with high BAC levels (e.g. ≥0.15%) will be presented. Discussion: This study is part of a larger project that will be conducted in two phases. The results from the current study (phase I) will support the design of a community intervention to reduce alcohol use and violence at football arenas in Sweden (phase II).

ABSTRACT. Background: Over the past 20 years there has been a significant shift from drinking in public houses and bars to drinking at home. Recent figures from the British Beer and Pub Association show that 80% of wine in the UK is now consumed at home. Drinking at home is generally regarded as safe and commonly compared favourably to public binge drinking especially when conducted by young people. Method: Internet survey of the reasons for drinking at home and some of the accompanying behaviours was conducted amongst University staff recruited from the central University address book. An additional small sample was recruited through facebook and twitter contacts. Results: The total sample was 529. The response rate was 26%. Fifty-eight percent of women completed the survey, 51% participants were in the 20-39 age range. The mean AUDIT score was 8.1 (SD=5.3). The main reasons for drinking at home were because it was convenient, and aid to relaxation and cheap. The following were the activities most associated with drinking at home that were most endorsed by the sample; drinking alcohol with meals, whilst having barbeques in the garden and watching television. Conclusions. These findings provide further insights into the reasons why adults chose to drink alcohol at home in the UK and can help design targeted information that can promote less risky behaviours when drinking at home.

ABSTRACT. Background

Judgements of volume may influence the rate of consumption of alcohol and, in turn, the amount consumed. The aim was to examine the impact of wine glass size on (a) perceptions of volume and (b) consumption.

Methods

Study 1: Online experiment: Participants (n=360) matched the volume of wine in two wine glasses: a reference glass holding a fixed volume, and a comparison glass, in which volume was altered by participants until they perceived it matched the reference volume. One of three comparison glasses was shown in each trial: ‘wider’; ‘larger’; ‘wider-and-larger’.

Study 2: Multiple treatment reversal design: Changing glass size in one bar/restaurant, in 8 fortnightly periods: A (Standard 300ml); B (Larger 370ml); A; C (Smaller 250ml); B; A; C; A. Consumption was measured by wine sales.

Results

Study 1: Relative to the reference glass, participants tended to under-fill the wider glass and over-fill the larger glass. These perceptual differences could influence drinking behaviour, while larger glasses may also increase consumption when wine is served by bottle if larger portions are poured. These hypotheses are tested in Study 2.

Study 2: Wine sales were 9% (95%CI: 1.9,17.5) higher with larger compared to standard-sized glasses. This seemed principally driven by sales in the bar area (14%; 95%CI: 3.3,26.7) compared with the restaurant (8%; 95%CI: -2.5,20.1). Sales were similar for smaller and standard glasses.

Conclusions

These studies provide the first evidence that wine glass size influences perceived volume (Study 1), and can affect consumption, with larger glasses increasing consumption (Study 2).

ABSTRACT. Background: Despite the legislation setting the minimum purchasing age, many Polish parents, accept alcohol use by their 15-year olds and/or set their own rules. Aim: To explore parental knowledge, attitudes and rules concerning alcohol use by their children, as well as their relationship with adolescents’ pre- and post initiation drinking behaviors. Method: Cross-sectional questionnaire data collected from the random sample of Warsaw 15-year old students (N = 984) on: alcohol use and getting drunk, perception of parental rules and attitudes toward alcohol use by a child, parental monitoring and support, school climate and peers’ support. Quantitative analysis were preceded by analysis of adolescents’ own descriptions of parental behaviors and attitudes. Results: Parental disapproval of alcohol use by teenagers (faced by 40% of respondents) and setting clear rules forbidding alcohol use (reported by 25%) are significant protective factors. Among adolescents who already drink (75%), the risk of getting drunk is lower if the parents know from their children that they drink alcohol (about 50% of young alcohol users talked about it to their parents). Parental factors seemed to be more significant for girls than for boys and for those who had not initiated alcohol use yet. Conclusions: Parents use a lot of strategies to protect their children from future alcohol-related problems. More effort is needed to empower them to choose the most effective ones.

ABSTRACT. Youth antisocial behaviour is a major concern for government and policy makers as well as parents, teachers and schools. Youths who exhibit antisocial behaviour are more likely to report poor self-perception, dissatisfaction with school, school drop-out, and criminal behaviour. Moreover, a large number of young people from urban places are coming from low-income families that exist within a community context of disempowerment, limited access to resources, and daily exposure to violence, crime and abuse. In the context of a culture that becomes increasingly more complex and diverse, understanding how youth from these areas are confronting challenges and making life choices that define an individual’s sense of personal and moral control are critical as these can be a challenge even for the most resilient youths. School based interventions offer a promising approach of encouraging proactive participation and commitment in youth coming from such diverse places. However, there is little evidence about the factors that might assign students to these interventions. With the aim of contributing to close this gap in the current literature, the present project sought to explore a set of psychosocial factors associated with problem behaviours in youths at school. More precisely, we investigated the relationship between problem behaviours, personality traits, social identity, school based social roles, and parental approaches in a quantitative study with 300 students in London, UK. Results indicate a relation between antisocial behaviour and different school based roles and revealed that identification with school is a key factor associated with prosocial behaviours.

ABSTRACT. Introduction: In the FRITT study, the intention-to-treat analysis showed that brief structured counselling for tobacco use cessation delivered in dental clinics increased the likelihood of half-reduction, but had no effect on 7-days abstinence. If full protocol adherence is achieved, the assigned intervention measures the received intervention, but this is rarely the case in public health interventions. The effect of the received intervention can be estimated performing per-protocol and as-treated analyses. The aim of this study is to increase the understanding of how tobacco use cessation is influenced by the receipt of a brief counselling intervention in dental clinics.

Methods: We conducted a) per-protocol analysis, where individuals randomized to receive the intervention and actually receiving it, as described in the protocol, were contrasted to those randomized to the control group; and b) as-treated analysis where individuals from both experimental arms were compared according to counselling actually received.

Results: Protocol adherence among dental practitioners in the intervention arm was 73.8%. Both per-protocol and as-treated analyses show a statistically significant effect of brief counselling on the reduction in tobacco consumption compared to baseline. No statistically significant effect was found for the primary outcome, 7-days abstinence.

Conclusion: In the FRITT study, protocol adherence was high and the results from per-protocol, as-treated and intention-to-treat analyses are similar. Per-protocol and as-treated analyses strengthen the inference made from the intention-to-treat analysis.

ABSTRACT. To be effective, interventions must be based on an understanding of why people use drugs. The idea of prevention ‘without talking’ inspires us to look at the specific contexts of substance use, as well as to tap into people’s implicit knowledge and beliefs concerning substance use. The present study does both of these things by exploring perceived characteristics of settings where substances are consumed (and where not). I am interested in understanding why people use certain substances in one place, but not another; and why people have different ideas about where to use what substances. Borrowing from Albrow’s notion of ‘sociosphere’, I propose the term ‘drugsphere’ to describe an individual’s personal map of substance use. Using different question prompts in a repertory grid interview, I obtain an insight into drug-specific decision-making and reasoning (e.g. “I’m likely to get caught here, but not here”; “it would be weird to do that here”), but also into how general socio-spatial features (e.g. people, atmospheres, work/play) relate to substance use. Understanding this latter aspect is crucial if we are to appreciate the implicit functions and meanings of substance use. The study thus contributes to a growing body of research which emphasises and explores the relational embeddedness of substance use in time and space. Data collection is ongoing and so the presentation will offer initial findings for discussion. Possible implications for public health interventions will be highlighted.

ABSTRACT. Recent trends suggest heavy drinking patterns that develop during the student years are continuing to adulthood, which has put the university student ‘binge drinking’ phenomena at the forefront of public health concerns. Current concerns exist over students’ pursuit of deliberate drunkenness, which appears to have become normalised and expected within the university environment. Current UK university prevention strategies that try to tackle these social norms of irresponsible drinking have proved to be resistant in changing attitudes towards alcohol and its use. It is likely that students’ motives to consume alcohol change across their university life course. Few alcohol prevention strategies have been tailored to individual academic year groups, which may explain students’ disassociation with current interventions. For first year students the move to university represents a major life transition as many seek to make new friends and experience pronounced changes within their social environment and role of responsibilities. Stress, freedom, social pressures and opportunities are likely factors that may affect alcohol use during the first year at university. In comparison, third year students typically have increased workloads and impending career decisions. Understanding the meaning and motivation behind drinking habits during each academic year of university will help educationalists and policy makers develop effective responses that relate to each university student, in an attempt to change the social norm of irresponsible drinking at university. This research is part of a wider PhD programme which aims to look at students’ motives, perceptions and drinking behaviour during to the transition to and through university.

ABSTRACT. Restricting alcohol advertising and developing alcohol warning media campaigns have the potential to reduce alcohol consumption across populations. There is, however, limited understanding of the psychological mechanisms that underlie their effectiveness. Two experiments were conducted in which drinkers were randomly allocated to one of three groups: exposure to alcohol promoting, alcohol warning, or non-alcohol advertisements. Experiment 1: 373 participants’ (aged 18-40) explicit and implicit attitudes towards alcohol were assessed pre- and post-exposure. There were no main effects of advertisement condition. However, among heavier drinkers, implicit attitudes became more positive in response to alcohol promoting advertisements and less negative in response to alcohol warning advertisements, compared to non-alcohol advertisements. Experiment 2: 150 young adults (aged 18-25) reported their affective responses to advertisements and their urge to drink alcohol following advertisement exposure. Participants exposed to alcohol warning advertisements reported significantly lower urges to drink alcohol than those who viewed either alcohol promoting or non-alcohol advertisements. This effect was fully mediated by negative emotional responses (displeasure) to the alcohol warning advertisements. Results are in line with research into anti-smoking media campaigns, which indicate that advertisements eliciting negative emotions have high perceived effectiveness, yet also highlight the possibility of iatrogenic effects among heavy drinkers. The impact of these advertisements upon actual consumption is currently being assessed in a laboratory-based experiment.

ABSTRACT. Introduction: It is generally hoped that targeted services for children and young people are provided to those that need them. However, it has long been hypothesised that this may not necessarily be the case. The Dartington Social Research Unit has explored this issue over many decades and is now able to report on robust empirical data on children’s well-being, service use and the degree to which services meet needs.

Methods: We have contributed to the development of a suite of survey instruments designed to measure the well-being of children and young people at a local population-level. Survey instruments are comprised of standardised and valid instruments that produce reliable indicators of children’s physical and mental heath, behavioural and social development, as well as a wide range of associated risk factors: contexts or experiences in the home, school, peer or community environment that increase the likelihood of poor outcomes.

These survey instruments were administered to all children aged 9 to 15 in all state schools across three local authorities in Scotland (n = 26,100; with a 86% response rate). These survey data were then confidentially matched to existing administrative data on service use (child welfare, youth justice, special educational support or mental health services).

Results: We drew thresholds to identify the proportion of children from across the local population – not just those in contact with services – that had high levels of need (i.e. multiple likely impairments to their health and development). Across the three local authorities the proportion of children in this ‘high need’ group was approximately 23%. The proportion receiving targeted services was approximately 12%. The proportion of those in the ‘high need’ group that were receiving targeted services was approximately 26%.

Implications: These data have profound implications for policy and practice. They indicate that the level of high need within a population is likely to be far greater than public systems have the capacity to meet. Strategies to mitigate this situation include: (a) greater investment in prevention and early intervention to reduce the proportion of children within a population with high need; (b) a better alignment of existing targeted services to meet the needs of the population, either by expanding reach of services (which is unlikely in the current economic climate) or by more effective processes to ensure that the limited resources of services are targeted to those most in need.

ABSTRACT. On the moment we work on a book under the title Delinquency and Drug Use in Europe: Understanding Risk and Protective factors. We try to understand delinquency and drug use of adolescents in Europe, the development of them, the risk and protective factors in the daily contexts of adolescents; the youngsters and their communities. For this we use the CtC-survey as a social epidemiological instrument to research communities and to compare studies. Comparative studies are done in England, Netherlands, Croatia, Cyprus, Germany, Austria and Sweden. Here, the study of the Netherlands will be given as an example (H. Jonkman & C. Hosman) It is a research among 5,765 youngsters carried out in 2011 of youngsters in 55 communities in the Netherlands on violence and delinquency, other problem behaviours, risk and protective factors. In the presentation violence and delinquency of youngsters will be shown in a comprehensive perspective. We show the prevalence of violence and delinquency among youngster (12-17 years) and how they are associated with other problem behaviours (smoking, drinking of alcohol, hash use and depression). For violence and delinquency we studied the separated influence of different risk and protective factors in the contexts of family, school, friends and community. We look at the Odds Ratio’s as an adequate measure of the association. We also show the Effect Sizes as a magnitude of the association. For the purpose of prevention it is interesting to research what it means for violence and delinquency when we decrease the exposure of risk factor or increase the exposure of protective factor. For this we use the Population Attributable Fraction. We end this presentation with research of the cumulative effect of risk and protective factors which cluster together on violence and delinquency. Some conclusions will be drawn and discussion will follow.

ABSTRACT. Family Competences Programme 12-16 is the spanish new adaptation of the Strenghtening Family Program adressed to low risk adolescents and their families. The former version (6-12 years) has been implemented in Spain since 2009 assessing good results (Orte et al. 2008, 2012, 2013). The longitudinal analysis has also shown interesting outcomes (Orte et al 2013, 14). Intervention effectiveness depends very much on a balance between fidelity and cultural adaptation (Kumpfer et al. 2012). An adaptation process must seek how to match fidelity with the needs and preferences of a the specific age and culture group (Aarons et al., 2012; Glez Castro et al. 2010, Kumpfer et al. 2012, Marsiglia y Booth, 2014). The aim is to increase the particiant’s permanence at the programme but also to increase the impact obtained in the expected results while keeping the core elements of the programme (Kumpfer et al. 2012). Adaptations might include a number of changes in many of the elements of the programme (language and cultural expressions, materials, graphics and draws, activities...). It is also possible to reorder certain components without threatening the effectiveness of the programme (Aaron et al, 2012). In this sense, the use of ethnographies of the sessions can be a positive method to assess the quality of the changes and strategies developped in the adaptation process and to increase the possibilities of participant’s permanence in further implementations. The aim of this paper is to discuss the relevance of this qualitative methodology for a better understanding of the responses of the participants to the programme, as a way to improve the adaptation process. This process should lead to a validation of the different programme components (activities, materials, contents...) and to increase the impact of the results. The paper presents the results of the analysis of the ethnographies of the 14th sessions of the FCP 12-16 carried out in a pilot implementation with a selected group of families in a secondary school at Palma of Majorca. In order to assess the participant’s response to the programme we have used ethnographies in each session, focusing on attitudes, comprehention, involvement and motivation, relationships, management of the situations, etc., both of the participants and the facilitators. References Aarons, G.A., Miller, E.,Green A.,Perrot A., Bradway, R., (2012) Adaptation happens: a qualitative case study of implementation of The Incredible Years evidence-based parent training programme in a residential substance abuse treatment programme. Journal of Children Services. Vol 7 N.4

Amer, J.; Orte, C.; Ballester, Ll.; Oliver, J. Ll.; Pascual, B.; Vives, M. (2012), Preventing child abuse: results from the application of a program of positive parenting. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, Volumen, 84, ISSN: 1877-0428.

Gonzalez Castro, F. Barrera Jr, M., Holeran Steiker, LK. (2010) Issues and challenges in the design of culturally adapted evidence-based interventions. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 6: 213-39

Hammersley, M. , Atkinson P. (1995) Ethnography. Principles in Practice. Psychology Press, 1995

Kumpfer, K., Magalhaes,C., Xie, J.(2012) Cultural adaptations of evidence-based family interventions to strenghthen families and improve children’s developmental outcomes. European Journal of Developmental Psychology

Marsiglial, F., Booth, J.M. (2014) Cultural Adaptation of Interventions in Real Practice Settings. Research on Social Work Practice published online 22 May

Orte, C.; Touza, C.; Ballester, L.; March, M. (2008). Children of drug-dependent parents: prevention programme outcomes. Educational Research. 50, pp. 249 -260.2008. Disponible en Internet en: http://www.informaworld.com

Orte, C., Ballester, Ll. March, M.X. & Amer, J. (2013). The Spanish Adaptation of The Strengthening Families Program. Procedia. Social and Behavioral Sciences, 84, 269-273.

ABSTRACT. Programs aimed at preventing child maltreatment and dysfunctional parent-child interactions predominately target parental knowledge of effective parenting skills. Although largely effective, these prevention programs function under the implicit assumption that if parents have knowledge of effective parenting strategies, they will then implement that knowledge in real-world situations. Identifying and modifying situational barriers to the use of effective parenting techniques may improve parent-child interactions without directly intervening with families. We examined predictors of the discrepancy between mothers’ parenting technique knowledge and implementation. Participants included 65 mothers of 2-4 year old children. Mothers’ reported using significantly more harsh and permissive parenting than they believed they should use (t (64) = 11.65, p < .001; t (64) = 7.27, p < .001, respectively), indicating that although they had knowledge of effective parenting practices, they did not consistently use that knowledge. Situational variables (time pressure, multitasking, and parenting in public) did not predict the harsh parenting discrepancy. Mothers’ reports of feeling time pressure while parenting predicted the permissive parenting discrepancy (β = .25, p < .05). There was also a significant interaction between time pressure and maternal impulsivity (β = -.30, p < .05); impulsive mothers were more likely to report discrepant permissive parenting when they were under time pressure than were mothers who were less impulsive. Policies with the potential to reduce time pressure demands for mothers (e.g., mandated maternity and paternity leave, family-centered workplace policies) may reduce mothers’ use of permissive parenting practices, particularly for mothers who report higher levels of impulsivity.

ABSTRACT. Preventive health care programmes for infants and preschool children have been in place for several decades in Slovenia. Their aim is to improve the physical, mental and social health of infants, children and adolescents. The preventive programmes are financed by compulsory national health insurance. Their content is defined by the guidelines for preventive health care at the primary level. This kind of organisation of services has led to a high percentage of preventive attendances and high percentage of immunisation coverage in our population. As we are facing new emerging health problems in children and adolescents due to changing life style, changes in preventive programmes are necessary to meet the needs of young population and improve our efficiency. We need not only well educated health care providers with enough knowledge, skills and empathy for children and adolescents but also well-organized primary health care system and in particular well developed inter-sectoral and multidisciplinary approach, using settings-based approaches to health improvement. The new programmes will be supported by new information system which will enable better monitoring and adaptation of the system to the needs of children and adolescents.

In the presentation the necessary changes recommended by the multidisciplinary working groups are presented. This work is co-financed by the Norwegian financial mechanism