Study 1
Storr and colleagues (2002) used a sample of 678 urban first graders and their families from nine elementary schools, which were located mostly in western Baltimore, Maryland. A randomized block design was employed, with schools serving as the blocking factor. Three first-grade classrooms in each of the nine elementary schools were randomly assigned to one of the two intervention conditions (Classroom Centered Intervention [CCI] or Family–School Partnership [FSP]) or to a control condition (that did not receive any special prevention program). Teachers and children were randomly assigned to intervention conditions. The interventions were limited to first-grade students.
Of the 678 students randomized, 219 were assigned to control conditions, 230 were assigned to CCI classrooms, and 229 were assigned to FSP classrooms. Of these 678 children, 53 percent were male, 86 percent were African American, and 14 percent were white. Children receiving free or reduced lunch made up 62 percent of the sample. At entrance into first grade, the children ranged in age from 5.3 to 7.7 years, with a mean age of 5.7 years. Compared with students in the CCI and FSP interventions, children in the control group were somewhat less likely to be male and to be African American, and somewhat more likely to come from two-parent households. In addition, the teacher ratings of problem behavior were modestly higher for children in the CCI group. The CrimeSolutions review of this study focused on the difference between the FSP treatment group and the control group.
The primary outcome of interest was initiation of tobacco use. Youth self-reported use of tobacco was assessed 6 years after the end of the intervention year using the audio computer-assisted self-interview (ACASI) when the students were, on average, 12 years old. Parents/caregivers completed hour-long telephone interviews in the fall of first grade. Teachers rated the children’s adequacy of performance on core classroom tasks, using the Teacher Observation of Classroom Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R) scale. Cox regression models were used to estimate the impact of the intervention on the risk of starting to smoke. Statistical adjustments were made for the between-group baseline differences in age, race, parental monitoring and supervision, family tobacco use, and teacher rating of the TOCA-R score. Subgroup analyses were conducted to determine the potential effect of gender on program outcomes.
Study 2
Furr-Holden and colleagues (2004) used the same sample as Study 1 (Storr et al. 2002). Of the 678 students in the original sample, approximately 84 percent (n = 566) participated in the follow-up assessment 5, 6, and 7 years after randomization (sixth, seventh, or eighth grade). The CrimeSolutions review of this study focused on the difference between the FSP treatment group and the control group.
At follow up, students used ACASI methods to self-report on drug involvement, specifically related to early onset (i.e., prior to mid-adolescence) initiation of tobacco, alcoholic beverages, inhalants (e.g., glue and gases), marijuana, or other illegal drugs, including cocaine and heroin. The data was analyzed using regression models and generalized estimating equations. No subgroup analyses were conducted.
