4.4. SR 06-04-2001 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

not. To assess the program's effects, drug use among students in the study was mea- sured at several points over fifteen months. The results sharply undermine three common criticisms of prevention programs: that they help only white, middle-class adolescents; that they help only those who need it least; and that they only reduce trivial levels of use.~' Results showed the roi- lowing: · The program was equally effective in schools with substantial minority popula- tions and in predominantly white schools. · For seventh graders who had never tried marijuana, one-third fewer program participants began using it than did those in the control group. · The program also reduced frequent marijuana use among high-risk students - those who were most likely to become regular users because they had already tried cigarettes or marijuana. · For those who had already experimented with cigarettes, regular smoking was cut by as much as 50 to 60 percent after participation in the program. · Booster lessons proved critical. They maintained marijuana curtailment in the eighth grade and prompted significant reductions in cigarette smoking. The program also curbed drinking among seventh graders. These gains, however, disappeared by the time students reached the eighth grade. On the basis of this research, RAND strengthened teachin, g strategies in the alcohol component of the program. Nevertheless, maintaining early prevention gains against alcohol requires reinforcement from the broader society. For previously confirmed smokers, the results indicate that prevention alone is not enough. These young people need help in quitting. To help address their needs, the curriculum also offers a lesson on smoking cessation. In summary, Project ALERT effectively prevented or reduced marijuana, cigarette, and alcohol use among young adolescents from widely different community and school environments. It helped both high- and low-risk students and proved suc- cessful in schools with both high- and low-minority populations. Equally impor- tant, it offered the prospect of preventing or delaying progression to harder drugs. An inhalant lesson has been added to the Project ALERT curriculum in response to disturbing national usage trends. This component was researched and developed by the same RAND team. ~- See P. L. Ellickson and R. M. Bell, "Drug Prevention in Junior High: A Multi-Site Longitudinal Test," Science, Vol. 247, pp. 12994305, March 16, 1990; and P. L. Ellickson and R. M. Bell, Prospects for Preventing Drug Use Among Young Adolescents, RAND Corporation, R-3896-CHF, March 1990. _) 6 I Core Curriculum