TY - JOUR
T1 - Impact of a Positive Youth Development Program in Urban After-School Settings on the Prevention of Adolescent Substance Use
AU - Tebes, Jacob Kraemer
AU - Feinn, Richard
AU - Vanderploeg, Jeffrey J.
AU - Chinman, Matthew J.
AU - Shepard, Jane
AU - Brabham, Tamika
AU - Genovese, Maegan
AU - Connell, Christian
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by grant KD1 SP09280 from the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention. The authors acknowledge Kenneth Darden, Susan Florio, Terry Freeman, Cindy Grabarek, Kaye Harvey, Martin Jackson, Jill Popp, Beverly Richardson, Deborah Stewart, Stephanie West, and the group facilitators and after-school program staff who contributed to this project.
PY - 2007/9
Y1 - 2007/9
N2 - Purpose: Positive youth development (PYD) emphasizes a strengths-based approach to the promotion of positive outcomes for adolescents. After-school programs provide a unique opportunity to implement PYD approaches and to address adolescent risk factors for negative outcomes, such as unsupervised out-of-school time. This study examines the effectiveness of an after-school program delivered in urban settings on the prevention of adolescent substance use. Methods: A total of 304 adolescents participated in the study: 149 in the intervention group and 155 in a control group. A comprehensive PYD intervention that included delivery of an 18-session curriculum previously found to be effective in preventing substance use in school settings was adapted for use in urban after-school settings. The intervention emphasizes adolescents' use of effective decision-making skills to prevent drug use. Assessments of substance use attitudes and behaviors were conducted at program entry, program completion, and at the 1-year follow-up to program entry. Propensity scores were computed and entered in the analyses to control for any pretest differences between intervention and control groups. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) analyses were conducted to assess program effectiveness. Results: The results demonstrate that adolescents receiving the intervention were significantly more likely to view drugs as harmful at program exit, and exhibited significantly lower increases in alcohol, marijuana, other drug use, and any drug use 1 year after beginning the program. Conclusions: A PYD intervention developed for use in an urban after-school setting is effective in preventing adolescent substance use.
AB - Purpose: Positive youth development (PYD) emphasizes a strengths-based approach to the promotion of positive outcomes for adolescents. After-school programs provide a unique opportunity to implement PYD approaches and to address adolescent risk factors for negative outcomes, such as unsupervised out-of-school time. This study examines the effectiveness of an after-school program delivered in urban settings on the prevention of adolescent substance use. Methods: A total of 304 adolescents participated in the study: 149 in the intervention group and 155 in a control group. A comprehensive PYD intervention that included delivery of an 18-session curriculum previously found to be effective in preventing substance use in school settings was adapted for use in urban after-school settings. The intervention emphasizes adolescents' use of effective decision-making skills to prevent drug use. Assessments of substance use attitudes and behaviors were conducted at program entry, program completion, and at the 1-year follow-up to program entry. Propensity scores were computed and entered in the analyses to control for any pretest differences between intervention and control groups. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) analyses were conducted to assess program effectiveness. Results: The results demonstrate that adolescents receiving the intervention were significantly more likely to view drugs as harmful at program exit, and exhibited significantly lower increases in alcohol, marijuana, other drug use, and any drug use 1 year after beginning the program. Conclusions: A PYD intervention developed for use in an urban after-school setting is effective in preventing adolescent substance use.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2007.02.016
DO - 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2007.02.016
M3 - Article
C2 - 17707293
AN - SCOPUS:34547850132
VL - 41
SP - 239
EP - 247
JO - Journal of Adolescent Health
JF - Journal of Adolescent Health
SN - 1054-139X
IS - 3
ER -