RURAL FAMILY AND COMMUNITY DRUG ABUSE PREVENTION PROJECT

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This revised proposal will entail two interrelated stages of research activity laying the foundation for a statewide community drug abuse prevention demonstration project in Iowa. Unfavorable trends in drug use attitudes and behaviors of rural youth underscore the need for this planned demonstration project. The proposed research will draw upon results from previous NIDA-funded studies in Iowa and Washington State. The Washington State project has resulted in the development of a family risk-focused prevention program, Preparing for the Drug (Free) Years (PDY), which has shown promising results in preliminary study. It now requires the rigorous evaluation proposed in this application, using the multimethod, multiinformant measurement methods developed through the Iowa Family Stress Project. The first stage of research activity entails a pilot study with 200 rural families having sixth and seven graders, assigned to workshop and minimal intervention (self-help oriented) presentations of the PDY Program. Families will be selected from rural school districts having high percentages of lower income families, high enough to qualify for special financial assistance through the Iowa Department of Education. The pilot study with these families will (a) serve to guide the researchers in refining recruitment and retention strategies targeting similar rural populations, (b) provide valuable experience in efficiently managing the combined implementation of the PDY program and intensive, multimethod assessment procedures, and (c) allow evaluation of short-term program effects across multiple outcome measures. Pilot study results will thus guide the refinement of PDY Program implementation and outcome measurement procedures for a longer-term, randomized, controlled study with a second group of 700 rural families from economically disadvantaged school districts in a different region of the state. Families in this trial will be randomly assigned to one of three conditions: workshop, minimal intervention and waiting-list control. The trial will evaluate family functioning and related adolescent substance use by employing the multimethod, multiinformant measurement methods at pretest, posttest and one year follow-up assessments. The results of this project will then be incorporated into the design of a statewide family and community drug abuse prevention demonstration project, which will include family risk- focused interventions as a centerpiece, and for which other funding will be sought.