SCHOOL BASED DRUG PREVENTION PROGRAM

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DESCRIPTION: (Applicant's Abstract) After a decade of decline, adolescent drug use rates have begun an upward ascent, demonstrating a continuing need for prevention efforts. While virtually all schools now include some measure of alcohol, tobacco, and other drug (ATOD) programming, little is known about the nature of such efforts both within and outside the classroom. Further, despite 3 decades of evaluative research, many schools continue to implement classroom-based curricula that are known to be ineffective. To address the "great disconnect" between research and practice, we must understand both the extent to which ineffective classroom curricula continue to be used and the process by which school districts adopt and implement curricula. The aims of the study are to determine the prevalence and characteristics of school-based substance use prevention programs (within and outside the classroom), and to determine any difference by key school subgroups; 2) to estimate the extent to which classroom curricula with features known to be effective have been adopted and implemented; 3) to investigate factors associated with adoption and implementation of effective classroom curricula. Three sources of data will be used in this project: a reanalysis of data from the School Health Policies and Programs Study (SHPPS), a national survey of schools conducted by CDC in 1994; primary survey data collected from a nationally representative sample of lead school based ATOD prevention teachers, as well as from ATOD prevention coordinators in their respective school districts; and detailed case studies of 25 of these schools (w/ 5 site visits) of schools that have implemented effective curricula. Study results will have important implications for school-based ATOD prevention efforts by describing them in unprecedented detail, assessing the value of curricula currently in place, and suggesting strategies by which the findings of prevention science can be effectively disseminated.