A QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL STUDY TO ASSESS THE EFFECTIVENESS OF A STRUCTURED TEACHING PROGRAMME ON THE LEVEL OF KNOWLEDGE REGARDING ALCOHOL DEPENDENCE AMONG ADOLESCENTS IN A SELECTED VILLAGE AT VIJAYAWADA, ANDHRA PRADESH.

Background: Alcohol use among adolescents is a growing public health concern, especially in semiurban and rural regions of India. Early initiation of alcohol consumption is associated with poor academic performance, unsafe behaviors, and long-term health complications. Despite this, awareness and preventive education among adolescents remain inadequate. Structured Teaching Programmes (STPs) are emerging as effective tools to improve knowledge and promote healthy behaviors among youth. Objectives: The study aimed to assess the knowledge level of adolescents regarding alcohol dependence before and after an STP, evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention, compare knowledge scores between experimental and control groups, and examine the association between post-test knowledge and selected demographic variables. Methods: A quasi-experimental pre-test–post-test control group design was used among 60 adolescents aged 15–19 years in a selected village near Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh. Participants were assigned to experimental(n=30) and control(n=30) groups using purposive sampling. A structured questionnaire assessed knowledge before and after the intervention. Data were analyzed using paired and unpaired t-tests and chi-square tests. Results: The mean knowledge score in the experimental group signicantly increased from 19.01(pre-test) to 29.61(post-test), with a t-value of 14.49(p<0.05). No signicant associations were found between post-test scores and demographic variables. Conclusion: The Structured Teaching Programme effectively improved knowledge regarding alcohol dependence among adolescents. These ndings support the integration of STPs into school and community health programs to raise awareness and prevent early alcohol use.