Elsevier

Journal of Adolescent Health

Volume 41, Issue 3, September 2007, Pages 239-247
Journal of Adolescent Health

Original article
Impact of a Positive Youth Development Program in Urban After-School Settings on the Prevention of Adolescent Substance Use

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2007.02.016Get rights and content

Abstract

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.

Section snippets

Participants

A total of 304 adolescents participated in the study: 149 in the intervention group and 155 in the control group. The final sample of 149 adolescents in the intervention group represented 91% of those eligible to participate in the intervention, and the final sample of 155 adolescents in the control group represented 88% of those eligible to participate in the control group. In the intervention group, adolescents were enrolled in one of five after-school programs—two programs serving middle

Results

Attendance was tracked for all adolescents enrolled in the intervention. Adolescents who attended 50 percent or more sessions were identified as receiving a full intervention dose. Analyses were completed on this “intention to treat” sample as well as a reduced sample of 18 fewer adolescents who did not attend at least one-half of the sessions. The results revealed no significant differences in outcomes between these two intervention samples; thus, the results from the full sample are reported

Discussion

The present study showed that a PYD intervention that included an evidence-based substance use prevention component adapted for an urban after-school setting was effective in preventing adolescent substance use. Adolescents participating in the intervention were significantly more likely to view drugs as harmful at program exit (about 7 months after enrollment), and demonstrated a significantly reduced incidence of past-30-day use of alcohol, marijuana, or other drugs, as well as any drug use 1

Acknowledgments

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.

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