Real World Impact of Bangor Research
Research carried out by Bangor University is helping a leading charity to get its powerful message across to young people. The Alcohol Education Trust, a National Charity based in Dorset that supports 1500 school and 700 youth organisations, launched its online learning zone, ‘talk about alcohol’, on 10th June. Research carried out at Bangor has shown that online gaming and having fun in the classroom environment can lead to young people staying safe around alcohol. The charity has therefore taken this on-board by providing online activities that are interactive and fun, besides being designed to encourage children to make healthy choices. Feedback from Secondary school children has already been overwhelmingly positive, with many referring to the ‘fun’ nature of the leaning zone: a response that the charity was hoping to receive.
Speaking of the launch of the learning zone, James Intriligator, Professor of Psychology at Bangor University and someone who was involved in Bangor’s research into the findings, said: ‘’The groundbreaking research of Bangor’s Professor Miles Cox and Dr Javad Fadardi demonstrates that lab-based ‘attentional retraining’ could reduce problem drinking. We have already seen this fundamental research inspire apps and games developed for the public. It is exciting to now see this approach being trialed with young adults as a way to delay and reduce early drinking. Our collaboration with the Alcohol Education Trust and GazMedia to co-design this new game is a wonderful opportunity to extend our robust impact activities.’’
Publication date: 16 June 2016