Underage drinking has reduced dramatically in the Alpine Shire region, a study conducted over the past nine years has revealed.
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Deakin University has completed an evaluation of the Communities That Care program, which has been conducted in four municipalities in the country.
Surveys of young people were conducted in just Myrtleford in 2010, then extended to the whole of the Alpine Shire in 2015.
Alpine Health CTC Alpine coordinator Lisa Neville said the idea was to take a public health approach to the issue and look at ways to reduce the risks around underage drinking.
"That community came to us with concerns about some social issues in their neighbourhood. We banded together and found the best community development model," she said.
"It's a really rich set of data that we get, which gives some really good indicators about how young people are thinking."
The 2010 survey results revealed students having issues tended to show a higher rate of lifetime alcohol use, binge drinking, family conflict and low commitment to school.
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But after a time working with local government, health agencies, local law, youth services and schools - with a focus on programs such as showing the side effects of drinking before turning 18 - there was a positive change.
"We saw reductions in substance use, reductions in anti-social behaviours, reductions in most risk factors including family conflict and a reduction in low commitment to school for year nine students," Ms Neville said.
"We like to keep kids in school or actively engaged in some kind of school-based apprenticeship or VCAL because we know that getting through year 11 and 12 is when they develop their critical thinking skills."
Deakin School of Psychology senior research fellow Dr Bosco Rowland said the results showed that problems such as substance abuse and crime, which are causing needless suffering, can be prevented through co-ordinated community action.
"Our findings clearly show we can reverse these problems by investing in evidence-based prevention programs that assist families, schools and communities in supporting children and young people to thrive," he said.
Results from CTC Alpine's 2019 survey are due in November.
