LONG TERM RESULTS OF ALERT PLUS

描述（由申请人提供）：项目ALERT是一个示范性的校本课程，旨在防止或延迟青少年在中学期间使用酒精，烟草和其他药物。1997年，国家药物滥用研究所资助了ALERT PLUS，将ALERT课程扩展到10年级。这个为期五年的项目的主要目的是通过随机实地试验确定ALERT的中学效果是否可以通过为9年级和10年级的学生增加助推课程而在高中持续下去。这项试验涉及南达科他州的48所高中及其中学教师，初步结果显示，修订后的中学课程在原来的基础上有所改进--控制了酗酒、吸烟和大麻的使用。初步分析还表明，高中部分有助于保持这些成果。在本申请中，我们寻求资金来评估ALERT和ALERT PLUS在成年期的有效性，因为年轻人被认为有增加药物使用和其他危险行为的风险。与吸毒和影响公共健康和生产力的行为之间的密切联系相一致，我们建议扩大我们对结果的评估，包括暴力行为，高中辍学，中学后教育程度和情绪困扰。我们还将评估该计划的成本效益和成本效益比随着时间的推移。为了执行这一议程，我们将在他们高中毕业（19岁）和两年后从ALERT/ALERT PLUS小组收集数据。该研究有六个具体目标：（1）估计ALERT/ALERT PLUS课程对19岁和21岁人群药物使用的影响;（2）估计ALERT/ALERT PLUS课程对6年和8年药物使用轨迹的影响;（3）估计ALERT/ALERT PLUS课程对辍学和中学后教育成就的影响;（4）评估ALERT/ALERT PLUS课程对情绪困扰的影响以及随着时间的推移药物使用和情绪困扰之间的关系;（5）评估ALERT/ALERT PLUS课程对19岁之前和之后暴力行为的影响;以及（6）对ALERT/ALERT PLUS课程进行经济评估。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Project ALERT is an exemplary school-based curriculum designed to prevent or delay adolescents' use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs during middle school. In 1997, the National Institute on Drug Abuse funded ALERT PLUS, an expansion of the ALERT curriculum through 10th grade. The primary aim of this five-year project is to determine, by means of a randomized field trial, whether ALERT's middle-school effects can be sustained in the high-school years by adding booster lessons for 9th and 10th grade students. Early results from this trial, which involves clusters of 48 South Dakota high schools and their middle-school feeders, show that the revised middle-school curriculum improves on the original--curbing alcohol misuse, as well as cigarette and marijuana use. Preliminary analyses also indicate that the high school component helps maintain those results. In this application, we seek funds to evaluate the effectiveness of ALERT and ALERT PLUS during the period of emerging adulthood, when young people are considered to be at risk for increased levels of drug use and other risky behavior. Consistent with the strong links between drug use and behaviors affecting public health and productivity, we propose to expand our assessment of outcomes to include violent behavior, dropping out of high school, post-secondary educational attainment, and emotional distress. We will also assess the program's cost-effectiveness and cost benefit ratio over time. To carry out this agenda, we will collect data from the ALERT/ALERT PLUS panel after they transition out of high school (age 19) and two years later. The study has six specific aims: (1) Estimate effects of the ALERT/ALERT PLUS curricula on drug use at ages 19 and 21; (2) Estimate effects of the ALERT/ALERT PLUS curricula on drug use trajectories over six and eight years; (3) Estimate effects of the ALERT/ALERT PLUS curricula on dropping out and post-secondary educational achievement; (4) Estimate effects of the ALERT/ALERT PLUS curricula on emotional distress and on the relationship between drug use and emotional distress over time; (5) Estimate effects of the ALERT/ALERT PLUS curricula on violent behavior before and after age 19; and (6) conduct an economic evaluation of the ALERT/ALERT PLUS curricula.