Drug Abuse Prevention And Education

This is a policy reform passed by California voters to downgrade drug and property offenses from felonies to misdemeanors, to focus prison resources on the most-serious violent offenses, reinvest savings toward prevention, and reduce recidivism. The program is rated Promising. In an evaluation of recidivism, the intervention group had statistically significantly fewer rearrests and reconvictions for any crime or revocation, compared with the control group, at the 1-year follow-up.

This is a mentoring program for youth who show low levels of antisocial behavior. This program was rated Promising. Youth in the program had statistically significant improvements in offending behavior, antisocial behavior, negative affect, association with antisocial peers, emotional well-being, and involvement in education or employment, compared with youth in the control group, but not in volume of offending behavior, use of alcohol or drugs, impulsivity, or aspirations for the future.

The program was a universal, preventive intervention for first-grade students, designed to reduce the risk for substance use by improving teachers’ and parents’ communication and behavior-management skills. The program is rated Promising. Approximately 6 to 7 years after the program, participants showed a statistically significant lower likelihood of having initiated tobacco use, compared with nonparticipants. The program had no impact on alcohol, marijuana, inhalant, or other drug use.

This program was a preventive intervention for first-grade students, which was designed to reduce substance use risk by improving teachers’ behavior-management skills and enhancing classroom curricula. The program is rated Promising. Overall, results were mixed. The treatment group showed a statistically significant lower likelihood of self-reporting initiation of tobacco use and other drugs, compared with the control group. The program had no statistically significant impact on alcohol, mariju

A culturally focused, gender-specific program that provides young females, primarily Mexican American, alternatives to substance abuse and gang involvement. The program is rated Promising. The program significantly reduced self-reports of damaging property; stealing more than $50; and buying, selling, or holding stolen goods. However, it had no impact on self-esteem, grades in school, concealing of weapons, and stealing less than $50.

This is a school-based drug prevention program designed to reduce students’ intention to use alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drugs and promote prosocial attitudes, skills, and behaviors. The program is rated No Effects. There were mixed findings in students’ self-reported emotional competency skills, social and resistance skills, and perceptions of the harmful effects of drugs. There were also no statistically significant impacts on students’ attitudes toward drugs.

This is an intergenerational mentoring initiative designed to delay or reduce substance use by increasing the resiliency and protective factors of at-risk middle school youth. The program is rated Promising. The treatment group showed statistically significant improvements in school attendance; reactions to situations involving drug use; and attitudes toward school, the future, and elders, compared with the control group; however, there were no effects on overall well-being or substance use.

This is a curriculum-based program for adolescents that aims to change attitudes toward and reduce substance use. The program is rated Promising. Participants demonstrated a statistically significant reduction in alcohol, marijuana, cigarette, and overall drug use; an increase in negative attitudes toward alcohol and marijuana; and an increase in knowledge of drug use and health consequences. However, there was no statistically significant effect on chewing tobacco behaviors.

This is a school-based life skills training curriculum for middle-school students aimed at reducing drug and alcohol use. The program is rated No Effects. There were statistically significant effects on past-30-day marijuana use and on marijuana- and alcohol-refusal skills for treatment group students, compared with control group students, but no statistically significant impacts on past-30-day alcohol, cigarette, or other illicit substances use and in cigarette- and cocaine-refusal skills.

This is a comprehensive program intended to promote an antidrug message throughout communities and prevent substance use among middle school students. The program is rated Effective. One study found that treatment group students had statistically significant lower past-month and past-week rates of cigarette use, compared with control group students. However, a second study found no statistically significant differences in smoking, alcohol, or marijuana use between groups.

This is a classroom-based, drug abuse–prevention program for upper elementary and junior high school students. This program is rated Effective. Students who participated in the program reported a statistically significant decrease in prevalence of cigarette, alcohol, and polydrug use; and slower growth in initiation of substance use, compared with control students. However, there were no significant differences between groups on self-reported marijuana use.

This is a school-based program designed to prevent substance use. The program is rated No Effects. There were no statistically significant effects on marijuana use, cocaine use, or on prevalence of getting drunk, and mixed effects on tobacco use, alcohol use, and hard drug use. There was a statistically significant improvement for the treatment group in overall substance use and an index of all hard drug use.

This is a community- and school-based program designed to increase academic skills and job placement in disadvantaged youth. The program is rated No Effects. There was a statistically significant increase in educational attainment and a decrease in drug use for the intervention group, compared with the control group. However, there were no statistically significant differences between groups in employment, employment earnings, or receipt of public assistance.

This program is an alternative to incarceration for drug-abusing defendants, which provides substance abuse treatment and education, case management, and intensive supervision. The program is rated Effective. Treatment group participants had a statistically significant lower likelihood of recidivating and experienced a greater length of time between initial arrest and first rearrest, compared with the comparison group.

This is a program designed to reduce drug dealing at residential rental properties by encouraging improved property management practices. The program is rated Effective. The treatment group that implemented the full program experienced a statistically significant reduction in crime, compared with the control group However, there was no statistically significant difference between the treatment and control groups in the eviction of persons convicted of drug offenses.

This is a multicomponent school-based drug and alcohol prevention program for male high school athletes. The program is rated Promising. The intervention was associated with statistically significant reductions in participants’ intent to use steroids, and statistically significant increases in their knowledge of the negative side effects of steroids and in their ability to refuse steroids and other drugs.

This is a school-based drug use prevention program, taught by police officers, which was designed for students in the sixth through 12th grades. The primary goal was to teach peer resistance and refusal skills so that adolescents can say “no” to drugs. The program is rated No Effects. There were no statistically significant differences between treatment and control group participants in drug use, attitudes toward drug use, or self-esteem.