John D. Swisher

Behavioral Intention as an Indicator of Drug and Alcohol Use.

The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between behavioral intention to use drugs and self-reported drug use. The subjects were 9403 seventh through twelfth grade students in five different types of schools in Pennsylvania. All subjects completed a questionnaire that assessed a variety of behaviors. Across all drugs, and within all school samples, the intention to use drugs was consistently related to the self-reported use of all drugs tested. Assessing the behavioral intentions of students serves as an alternative approach to measurement of substance use and abuse and has useful implications for program planning.

Assessing Drug and Alcohol Abuse: An Instrument for Planning and Evaluation.

The purpose of this study was to determine the reliability and validity of an instrument designed to assess the extent of alcohol and drug use. Factors in a school or community contributing to use ...

Results of a 3-Year Study of Two Methods of Delivery of Life Skills Training

Model programs and standards for substance abuse prevention have been identified by a number of federal agencies. The study reported here assessed two methods of delivery of one such program, Life Skills Training (LST), implemented in nine rural disadvantaged school districts. The results indicate that neither standard LST nor an infused LST delivery method was found effective for the entire sample, although some encouraging results were foundforthe females in the study. This study, conductedbyresearchersindependentof the LST program, is useful for school decision makers in determining what programs are most effective with which groups. It includedall studentswith parentalpermission,controllingforprioruse levels, unlike some previous LST studies. The results of the program, as implemented by regular classroom teachers, reflect many issues relevant to recruitment, training, implementation, adaptation, and institutionalization of prevention programming.

SUSTAINABILITY OF PREVENTION

This paper outlines the guidelines for sustaining prevention and makes suggestions for getting from the fields current status to greater levels of permanence for prevention. The paper begins by reviewing the status of prevention, then focuses on major considerations for achieving sustainability, including two processes of institutionalization, comprehensive programming and professionalism.

Life Skills Training Effects for High and Low Risk Rural Junior High School Females

This study assessed Life Skills Training effects for rural middle school females classified at low or high risk for initiation or increased use of substances. Risk domains included socioeconomic status, family relations and functioning, psychological health, and academic performance. The program does not address these risk variables directly, attempting instead to improve protective factors for participants. The strongest effects were found for the high-risk group, with some continuing treatment effects after two years, in substance use and protective skills competencies. Early effects for low risk subjects were lost by the end of second year programming. The findings underscore the need to choose prevention programs and protective skills components more selectively based on risk variables affecting the target population. Editors’ Strategic Implications: This article includes the following strategy that shows promise. School and community administrators should consider the academic and SES risk status of students in order to select appropriate prevention program components for their local settings. The authors examine the degree to which an evidence-based Life Skills Training program can be “infused” into the ongoing routine of the school. This is a timely issue, and the authors address substance abuse prevention in rural areas with a strong experimental, longitudinal design, a validated curriculum and measures, and a clear focus on the impact of high versus low risk status for female participants.

Cost-Benefit Estimates in Prevention Research

This paper reviews seven cost-benefit estimates made in prevention studies published in peer-reviewed journal articles or peer-edited book chapters. This paper includes articles that examined prevention programs implemented on an individual level and programs that involved community coalitions, using both individual and environmental strategies. The studies showed considerable differences in approach both to prevention and to cost-benefit analyses. Increasing evidence exists that some prevention programs are effective, but the programs reported here also have demonstrated that they are cost-beneficial. The literature reveals that the savings per dollar spent ranged from

Drug Abuse Prevention: A Behavioral Approach.

2.00 to

Experimental evaluation of "The Images Within": an alcohol education and prevention program.

19.64. The variability in the range can be attributed to how costs were calculated, outcomes included, and differences in methodologies.

A Statewide Evaluation of a Communication and Parenting Skills Program

This article describes a drug abuse prevention program conducted by school counselors with ninth grade students. While results are mixed, they do give the practicing counselor some direction in which to move.

DRUG USAGE: AN EXPERIMENTAL COMPARISON OF THREE ASSESSMENT CONDITIONS

A program titled “The Images Within” was implemented and evaluated in three sites on the east coast of the United States. This school curriculum uses art work developed by children of alcoholics to stimulate classroom discussions of the problems of parental alcohol abuse. The evaluation with 278 experimental and 310 control students indicated increased knowledge about the effects of alcohol and improved skills in coping with alcohol problems and help seeking behavior. Process data indicated that related programs were initiated, students were stimulated by the program and teachers were positive in their perceptions of the program. Schools implementing this program need to have developed referral networks to handle the individual concerns that are expressed as a result of participation in “The Images Within.”