Disorders - Substance Use Disorders
Ghosh-Dastidar, Bonnie, Longshore, Douglas L., Ellickson, Phyllis L., McCaffrey, Daniel F.
The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of a revised state-of-the-art drug prevention program, Project ALERT, on risk factors for drug use in mostly rural midwestern schools and communities. Fifty-five middle schools from South Dakota were randomly assigned to treatment or control conditions. Treatment-group students received 11 lessons in Grade 7 and 3 more in Grade 8. Effects for 4276 eighth graders were assessed 18 months after baseline. Results indicate that Project ALERT had statistically significant effects on all the targeted risk factors associated with cigarette and marijuana use and more modest gains with the pro-alcohol risk factors. The program helped adolescents at low, moderate, and high risk for future use, with the effect sizes typically stronger for the low- and moderate-risk groups. Thus, school-based drug prevention programs can lower risk factors that correlate with drug use, help low- to high-risk adolescents, and be effective in diverse school environments.
Health Education & Behavior, 31(3) : 318-34
- Year: 2004
- Problem: Substance Use Disorders (any)
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
-
Stage: Universal prevention
-
Treatment and intervention: Psychological Interventions (any)
, Psychoeducation, Skills training
Gil, Andres G., Wagner, Eric F., Tubman, Jonathan G.
AIMS: This study presents preliminary analyses examining the effects of an alcohol and other drug use (AOD) intervention with minority juvenile offenders. Furthermore, the study investigates the impact of cultural factors on baseline AOD use among Hispanic and African American youth, as well as on treatment outcome. DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Participants were 213 juvenile offenders referred for treatment (mean age = 15.7 years), 97 of whom have completed treatment to date. The intervention was carried out in clinics placed within the neighborhoods in which the participants resided. Intervention Alcohol Treatment Targeting Adolescents in Need (ATTAIN) is a controlled clinical trial evaluating the effectiveness of a brief motivational, cognitive behavioral intervention, guided self-change (GSC). Participants are assigned randomly to the individual format of guided self-change (I-GSC), the family involved format of guided self-Change (F-GSC), choice of one of these two, or a waiting list control condition. Only participants involved in active intervention are included in the present report. MEASUREMENTS: Data were collected via structured face-to-face interviews. Alcohol and marijuana use measures were collected using the Time-line Follow-back interview (TLFB). FINDINGS: There were significant reductions in alcohol and marijuana use for all ethnic groups from baseline to post-intervention. Cultural factors (discrimination, acculturation, ethnic pride and cultural mistrust) were associated with pre-intervention levels of alcohol and marijuana use. Among Hispanics, pre-intervention level of substance use were higher among foreign-born than US-born youth. Analyses conducted with the US-born Hispanic group showed that ethnic orientation and ethnic pride were associated positively with greater reductions in alcohol use. CONCLUSIONS: The intervention provided through ATTAIN appears to be effective with a multi-ethnic population of juvenile delinquents. Cultural factors, such as ethnic orientation and ethnic mistrust, appear to constitute amenability to treatment factors, with US-born Hispanic youth lower in acculturation responding better to the intervention.
Addiction, 99 Suppl 2 : 140-50
- Year: 2004
- Problem: Substance Use Disorders (any)
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
-
Stage: At risk (indicated or selected prevention)
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Treatment and intervention: Psychological Interventions (any)
, Other Psychological Interventions, Self-help
McCambridge, Jim, Strang, John
AIM: To test whether a single session of motivational interviewing (discussing alcohol, tobacco and illicit drug use) would lead successfully to reduction in use of these drugs or in perceptions of drug-related risk and harm among young people. DESIGN: Cluster randomized trial, allocating 200 young people in the natural groups in which they were recruited to either motivational interviewing (n=105) or non-intervention education-as-usual control condition (n=95). SETTING: Ten further education colleges across inner London. PARTICIPANTS: Two hundred young people (age range 16-20 years) currently using illegal drugs, with whom contact was established through peers trained for the project. INTERVENTION: The intervention was adapted from the literature on motivational interviewing in the form of a 1-hour single-session face-to-face interview structured by a series of topics. MEASUREMENTS: Changes in self-reported cigarette, alcohol, cannabis and other drug use and in a range of drug-specific perceptions and other indicators of risk and harm. Measurement at recruitment and follow-up interview 3 months later. FINDINGS: A good follow-up rate (89.5%; 179 of 200) was achieved. In comparison to the control group, those randomized to motivational interviewing reduced their of use of cigarettes, alcohol and cannabis, mainly through moderation of ongoing drug use rather than cessation. Effect sizes were 0.37 (0.15-0.6), 0.34 (0.09-0.59) and 0.75 (0.45-1.0) for reductions in the use of cigarettes, alcohol and cannabis, respectively. For both alcohol and cannabis, the effect was greater among heavier users of these drugs and among heavier cigarette smokers. The reduced cannabis use effect was also greater among youth usually considered vulnerable or high-risk according to other criteria. Change was also evident in various indicators of risk and harm, but not as widely as the changes in drug consumption. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides the first substantial evidence of non-treatment benefit to be derived among young people involved in illegal drug use in receipt of motivational interviewing. The targeting of multiple drug use in a generic fashion among young people has also been supported.
Addiction, 99(1) : 39-52
- Year: 2004
- Problem: Substance Use Disorders (any)
- Type: Controlled clinical trials
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Stage: At risk (indicated or selected prevention)
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Treatment and intervention: Psychological Interventions (any)
, Motivational interviewing, includes Motivational Enhancing Therapy
Morral, Andrew R., McCaffrey, Daniel F., Ridgeway, Greg
Whereas strong efficacy research has been conducted on novel treatment approaches for adolescent substance abusers, little is known about the effectiveness of the substance abuse treatment approaches most commonly available to youths, their families, and referring agencies. This report compares the 12-month outcomes of adolescent probationers (N = 449) who received either Phoenix Academy, a therapeutic community for adolescents that uses a treatment model that is widely implemented across the U.S., or an alternative probation disposition. Across many pretreatment risk factors for relapse and recidivism, groups were well matched after case-mix adjustment. Repeated measures analyses of substance use, psychological functioning, and crime outcomes collected 3, 6, and 12 months after the baseline interview demonstrated that Phoenix Academy treatment is associated with superior substance use and psychological functioning outcomes over the period of observation. As one of the most rigorous evaluations of the effectiveness of a traditional community-based adolescent drug treatment program, this study provides evidence that one such program is effective. Implications of this finding for the dissemination of efficacious novel treatment approaches are discussed. (c) 2004 APA
Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 18(3) : 257-68
- Year: 2004
- Problem: Substance Use Disorders (any)
- Type: Controlled clinical trials
-
Stage: At risk (indicated or selected prevention)
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Treatment and intervention: Service Delivery & Improvement, Other service delivery and improvement interventions
McBride, Nyanda
This paper provides an up-to-date systematic review of the school drug education literature (to June 2001) and identifies components that have the potential for creating effective drug education programmes in schools. This paper is a summary of a 150-page review. The review adopts a well-defined search methodology, specific selection criteria, and has made a series of recommendations based on the findings of past reviews and recent primary studies that met the selection criteria. The review is inclusive of reviews and recent primary studies that involved young people in school settings that encompassed a classroom intervention, included drug-related behavioural measures and had a positive impact on students' drug-related behaviours. The review identifies several areas that should be the focus of future programmes. These include timing and programming issues, content and delivery issues, teacher training, and dissemination. There is much refinement that can occur in school drug education implementation and research. The way forward is to continue to create and test interventions that bring together all components of the development, implementation and evaluation of school drug education that are effective in creating behaviour change, and that are practical to the school setting. [References: 26]
Health Education Research, 18(6) : 729-42
- Year: 2003
- Problem: Substance Use Disorders (any)
- Type: Systematic reviews
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Stage: Universal prevention
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Treatment and intervention: Psychological Interventions (any)
Mason, W., Kosterman, Rick, Hawkins, J., Haggerty, Kevin P., Spoth, Richard L.
The relationship between growth in adolescent substance use and delinquency was examined in a longitudinal, randomized controlled study of the Preparing for the Drug Free Years Program (PDFY), a universal family-focused prevention intervention. Latent growth curve modeling was used to analyze 5 waves of data collected from 429 rural adolescents. Results showed that adolescents assigned to the PDFY intervention condition had a slower rate of linear increase over time in both substance use and delinquency compared with adolescents assigned to the control condition. Moreover, pretest level of delinquency was a reliable, positive predictor of growth in substance use, whereas pretest level of substance use did not predict growth in delinquency. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2007 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract).
Prevention Science, 4(3) : 203-212
- Year: 2003
- Problem: Substance Use Disorders (any)
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
-
Stage: Universal prevention
-
Treatment and intervention: Psychological Interventions (any)
, Other Psychological Interventions
Perry, Cheryl L., Komro, Kelli A., Veblen-Mortenson, Sara, Bosma, Linda M., Farbakhsh, Kian, Munson, Karen A., Stigler, Melissa H., et-al
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of the middle and junior high school Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) and D.A.R.E. Plus programs on drug use and violence. DESIGN: Randomized controlled trial of 24 schools, with 3 conditions: D.A.R.E. only, D.A.R.E. Plus, and delayed program control. SETTING: Schools and neighborhoods, primarily in Minneapolis-St Paul. PARTICIPANTS: All seventh-grade students in 24 schools in the academic year 1999-2000 (N = 6237 at baseline, 67.3% were white, and there was 84.0% retention at final follow-up). INTERVENTIONS: The middle and junior high school D.A.R.E. curriculum in the 16 schools that received D.A.R.E. only and D.A.R.E. Plus. In the 8 schoolts that received D.A.R.E. Plus, additional components included a peer-led parental involvement classroom program called "On the VERGE," youth-led extracurricular activities, community adult action teams, and postcard mailings to parents. The interventions were implemented during 2 school years, when the cohort was in the seventh and eighth grades. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Self-reported tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana use; multidrug use; violence; and victimization, assessed at the beginning and end of seventh grade and at the end of eighth grade. Growth curve analytic methods were used to assess changes over time by condition. RESULTS: There were no significant differences between D.A.R.E. only and the controls; significant differences among boys between D.A.R.E. Plus and controls for tobacco, alcohol, and multidrug use and victimization; significant differences among boys between D.A.R.E. Plus and D.A.R.E. only in tobacco use and violence; and no significant behavioral differences among girls. CONCLUSION: D.A.R.E. Plus significantly enhanced the effectiveness of the D.A.R.E. curriculum among boys and was more effective than the delayed program controls, underscoring the potential for multiyear, multicomponent prevention programs and demonstrating sex differences in response to intervention programs.
Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 157(2) : 178-84
- Year: 2003
- Problem: Substance Use Disorders (any)
- Type: Controlled clinical trials
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Stage: Universal prevention
-
Treatment and intervention: Psychological Interventions (any)
, Psychoeducation, Skills training
Sussman, Steve, Sun, Ping, McCuller, William J., Dent, Clyde W.
OBJECTIVES: This paper describes the 2-year follow-up of a 12-session version of an indicated drug abuse prevention program, Project Towards No Drug Abuse (TND). Self-instruction programming often is used to help youth that are at high risk for dropout and drug abuse to complete their high school education. However, a health educator-led program is much more interactive. METHODS: The effects of self-instruction versus health educator-led versions of this curriculum were examined. Eighteen schools were randomly assigned by block to one of three conditions--standard care (control), health educator-led classroom program, and self-instruction classroom program. Subjects were followed up 1 and 2 years later. Two-year results are reported here. RESULTS: The self-instruction program produced no behavioral effects relative to the standard care control condition. The 2-year follow-up results indicated maintenance of program effects on cigarette smoking and hard drug use in the health educator-led version. CONCLUSIONS: Project TND shows maintenance of effects on some drugs 2 years after program implementation, when most youth were young adults. More work is needed to learn how to maintain effects across substances. Continued exploration of modalities of implementation may be helpful.
Preventive Medicine, 37(2) : 155-62
- Year: 2003
- Problem: Substance Use Disorders (any)
- Type: Controlled clinical trials
-
Stage: Universal prevention
-
Treatment and intervention: Psychological Interventions (any)
, Other Psychological Interventions
Hecht, Michael L., Marsiglia, Flavio Francisco, Elek, Elvira, Wagstaff, David A., Kulis, Stephen, Dustman, Patricia, Miller-Day, Michelle
This paper reports on the evaluation of a culturally grounded prevention intervention targeting substance use among urban middle-school students. The curriculum consists of 10 lessons promoting antidrug norms and teaching resistance and other social skills, reinforced by booster activities and a media campaign. Three versions were delivered: Mexican American, combined African American and European American, and Multicultural. Thirty-five middle schools were randomly assigned to 1 of the 3 versions or the control. Students completed baseline and follow-up questionnaires over a 2-year period (total 6,035 respondents). Analyses utilizing a generalized estimating equations approach assessed the overall effectiveness of cultural grounding and the cultural matching hypothesis. Support was found for the intervention's overall effectiveness, with statistically significant effects on gateway drug use as well as norms, attitudes, and resistance strategies but with little support for the cultural matching hypothesis. Specific contrasts found the Mexican American and Multicultural versions impacted the most outcomes.
Prevention Science, 4(4) : 233-48
- Year: 2003
- Problem: Substance Use Disorders (any)
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
-
Stage: Universal prevention
-
Treatment and intervention: Psychological Interventions (any)
, Skills training, Other Psychological Interventions
Griffin, Kenneth W., Botvin, Gilbert J., Nichols, Tracy R., Doyle, Margaret M.
BACKGROUND: Universal school-based prevention programs for alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use are typically designed for all students within a particular school setting. However, it is unclear whether such broad-based programs are effective for youth at high risk for substance use initiation. METHOD: The effectiveness of a universal drug abuse preventive intervention was examined among youth from 29 inner-city middle schools participating in a randomized, controlled prevention trial. A subsample of youth (21% of full sample) was identified as being at high risk for substance use initiation based on exposure to substance-using peers and poor academic performance in school. The prevention program taught drug refusal skills, antidrug norms, personal self-management skills, and general social skills. RESULTS: Findings indicated that youth at high risk who received the program (n = 426) reported less smoking, drinking, inhalant use, and polydrug use at the one-year follow-up assessment compared to youth at high risk in the control condition that did not receive the intervention (n = 332). Results indicate that a universal drug abuse prevention program is effective for minority, economically disadvantaged, inner-city youth who are at higher than average risk for substance use initiation. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that universal prevention programs can be effective for a range of youth along a continuum of risk.
Preventive Medicine, 36(1) : 1-7
- Year: 2003
- Problem: Substance Use Disorders (any)
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
-
Stage: Universal prevention
-
Treatment and intervention: Psychological Interventions (any)
, Skills training
Gottfredson, Denise C., Wilson, David B.
This study summarizes, using meta-analytic techniques, results from 94 studies of school-based prevention activities that examined alcohol or other drug use outcomes. It set out to determine what features of school-based substance abuse prevention programs are related to variability in the size of program effects, It asked (1) Which populations (e.g., high risk vs. general population) should be targeted for prevention services? (2) What is the best age or developmental stage for prevention programming? (3) Does program duration matter? and (4) Does the role of the person delivering the service (e.g., teacher, law enforcement officer, peer) matter? The results suggest that targeting middle school aged children and designing programs that can be delivered primarily by peer leaders will increase the effectiveness of school-based substance use prevention programs. The results also imply that such programs need not be lengthy. The evidence related to the targeting issue is sparse, but suggests that, at least for programs teaching social competency skills, targeting higher risk youths may yield stronger effects than targeting the general population. Suggestions for future research are offered.
Prevention Science, 4(1) : 27-38
- Year: 2003
- Problem: Substance Use Disorders (any), Alcohol Use
- Type: Systematic reviews
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Stage: Universal prevention
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Treatment and intervention: Psychological Interventions (any)
Ellickson, Phyllis L., McCaffrey, Daniel F., Ghosh-Dastidar, Bonnie, Longshore, Douglas L.
OBJECTIVES: We evaluated the revised Project ALERT drug prevention program across a wide variety of Midwestern schools and communities. METHODS: Fifty-five South Dakota middle schools were randomly assigned to program or control conditions. Treatment group students received 11 lessons in 7th grade and 3 more in 8th grade. Program effects for 4276 8th-graders were assessed 18 months after baseline. RESULTS: The revised Project ALERT curriculum curbed cigarette and marijuana use initiation, current and regular cigarette use, and alcohol misuse. Reductions ranged from 19% to 39%. Program effects were not significant for initial and current drinking or for current and regular marijuana use. CONCLUSIONS: School-based drug prevention programs can prevent occasional and more serious drug use, help low- to high-risk adolescents, and be effective in diverse school environments.
American Journal of Public Health, 93(11) : 1830-6
- Year: 2003
- Problem: Substance Use Disorders (any)
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
-
Stage: Universal prevention
-
Treatment and intervention: Psychological Interventions (any)
, Psychoeducation, Skills training