Meet us where we are: non-Indigenous young peoples’ ideas on how to reduce alcohol-related harm in Mparntwe (Alice Springs)

Objective: This research sought to understand the strategies young people in a remote central Australian town believed would reduce alcohol-related harms amongst their peers. 

Methods: A total of 38 non-Indigenous residents of Mparntwe (Alice Springs), aged between 14 and 18 years, participated in focus groups at their school. Participants discussed strategies they thought would reduce alcohol-related harms among people their age. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. 

Results: Participants suggested that young peoples’ drinking behaviour developed with peers. Through social learning in peer groups, drinking alcohol was perceived as fun and normal. Participants indicated a willingness to learn about strategies to stay safe around alcohol. Their ideas for doing so reflected their existing social methods of learning about alcohol: having comfortable conversations and storytelling with a small group of peers and a relatable role model. 

Conclusions: Young residents of Mparntwe (Alice Springs) advised that alcohol-related harm reduction strategies would be most effective if focussed on safety, rather than abstinence, and applied social-learning strategies. 

Implications for Public Health: Young people value their burgeoning self-determination. Youth health interventions must engage youth in intervention co-design and aim to assist young people to make safer decisions, rather than making decisions on their behalf.