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Guide
to Effective Programs
for Children and Youth |
OVERVIEW
The Midwestern Prevention Project is a community-based prevention program designed to decrease drug use among high-risk 6th- and 7th-graders (Chou, Montgomery, Pentz, Rohrbach Anderson, Johnson, Flay & MacKinnon, 1998). Experimental evaluations show that the program lowered participants' cigarette smoking, alcohol use, and marijuana use for two to three years after the program; however, certain effects dissipated as the adolescents aged.
DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM
Target population: Sixth and seventh grade students at high risk of drug use.
MPP was a 10-session program that emphasized social skills and drug use
resistance skills in 6th or 7th grade. The
parents of the experimental group children were taught positive parent-child
interaction strategies; community leaders were instructed on how to institute a
community-based prevention strategy; and a mass media campaign was launched.
EVALUATION(S) OF PROGRAM
Evaluated population: 3,412 6th- and 7th-graders in Kansas City and Indianapolis who had used cigarettes, alcohol, or marijuana.
The data for this study came from students at schools in Kansas City and Indianapolis. Sixth and seventh graders (n = 3,412) were split into control (n = 1,508) and experimental (n = 1,904) groups. However, only those who reported smoking cigarettes (control = 188, experimental = 212), using alcohol (control = 290, experimental = 323) or using marijuana (control = 38, experimental = 22) were included in the analysis. The experimental group received a 10-session program that emphasized social skills and drug use resistance skills in 6th or 7th grade. The parents of the experimental group children were taught positive parent-child interaction strategies; community leaders were instructed on how to institute a community-based prevention strategy; and a mass media campaign was launched. For the control group, only community leaders were instructed on how to institute a community-based prevention plan and a mass media campaign was launched. The analysis demonstrated that the prevention strategy reduced cigarette smoking and alcohol use at the 2.5-year follow-up, but by the 3.5-year follow-up there were no significant effects on reducing the prevalence of use, compared to the control group. This result could point to the fact that many adolescents go through a developmental trajectory in which they exhibit some deviant behaviors in early to mid-adolescence, but the deviant behaviors naturally dissipate by the end of adolescence or that alcohol becomes normative by late adolescence. A separate analysis of these data was conducted by Johnson, Pentz, Weber, Dwyer, Baer, MacKinnon, Hansen, and Flay (1990). The results suggest that the prevention strategy reduced the prevalence rates of marijuana and cigarette use in 9th and 10th grade (i.e., at the three year follow-up). However, across both the experimental and control groups prevalence rates increased over the three year period, but not as drastically among the experimental group participants. Having a more intensive strategy for alcohol use might result in significant long-term effects. The results suggest that this community-based program has medium term effects.
SOURCES FOR MORE INFORMATION
References:
Chou, C. P., Montgomery, S., Pentz, M. A., Rohrbach, L. A., Anderson Johnson, C., Flay, B. R., et al. (1998). Effects of a community-based prevention program on decreasing drug use in high-risk adolescents. American Journal of Public Health, 88(6), 944-948.
Johnson, C. A., Pentz, M. A., Weber, M. D., Dwyer, J. H., Baer, N., MacKinnon, D. P., Hansen, W. B., Flay, B. R. (1990). Relative effectiveness of comprehensive community programming for drug abuse prevention with high-risk and low-risk adolescents. Journal of Consulting & Clinical Psychology, 58, 447-456.
Program also discussed in the following Child Trends publication(s):
SUMMARY & CATEGORIZATION
Program categorized in this guide according to the
following:
Evaluated participant ages: 6th- and 7th-graders / Program age ranges in the Guide: 6-11, 12-14
Program components: School-based, Parent/family, Community/media
Measured outcomes: Behavioral problems
Program information last updated 10/10/01.
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© Child Trends 2003 |