58

The prevention of alcohol abuse among adolescents is a political priority. Local prevention practitioners have campaigned extensively in schools and the public arena. Scientific guidelines aimed at improving the efficiency of alcohol abuse prevention have also been widely promoted. In order to identify the role and place of scientific guidelines in practitioner practices, a qualitative study was conducted in 21 local organizations involved in the prevention of alcohol abuse among adolescents throughout the Brittany region of France. This study shows that the guidelines have been largely ignored by prevention practitioners. The production and dissemination of guidelines explains why they are difficult to locate and have remained relatively inaccessible to lay professionals.