Evaluation of the All Stars character education and problem behavior prevention program: effects on mediator and outcome variables for middle school students.

The effects of All Stars, a character education and problem behavior prevention program, on variables theorized to mediate problem behaviors and on the problem behavior variables of substance use, sexual behavior, and violence among middle school students are reported. In an independent, randomized, single-cohort, longitudinal evaluation of the program, 1,655 students completed pretest, posttest, and 1-year follow-up surveys measuring demographics, mediating variables, and behavioral outcome variables. Results indicate that the All Stars program, when administered by teachers, had an immediate effect on mediating variables that did not persist over time. Inclusion of ethnicity in the design showed that the program, when administered by specialists, had delayed effects on mediating variables for African American and Hispanic students. However, no consistent effects were found for student problem behaviors in either condition. Implications for prevention practice and directions for future research are discussed.

Drug use prevention for the high sensation seeker: the role of alternative activities.

Research demonstrating links between sensation-seeking and drug use, and sensation-seeking and participation in leisure activities suggests designing substance misuse prevention projects that encourage substituting alternative activities for drug use. The current study uses factor analysis and discriminant analysis to provide comprehensive information on the kinds of activities high-sensation seekers participate in. Factor analysis of activity participation indicates an eight factor solution. Discriminant analysis of factor scores indicates that high-sensation seekers can be discriminated from low-sensation seekers on the basis of two factors, active-adventure and conflict-combat. Implications for prevention program design are discussed.

Evaluation of the All Stars Program: student and teacher factors that influence mediators of substance use.

The authors examined the relationship between students' perceptions of a problem behavior prevention program, All Stars, and changes in the program variables. Three factors--Program Enjoyment, Student Engagement, and Teacher Relationship--were used to predict changes in the four variables targeted by the All Stars program. Student Engagement was related to greater changes in student idealism, commitment, and bonding. Program Enjoyment was related to positive changes in student idealism and normative beliefs. Teacher Relationship had little impact on the program variables. Students who were taught All Stars by regular classroom teachers reported greater Program Enjoyment and Student Engagement than students taught by health education specialists.

Alcohol risk reduction for fraternity and sorority members.

OBJECTIVE: The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of "Talking about Alcohol and Drugs... Among Greeks" (TAAD), a lifestyle risk reduction program that is research- and theory-based, protocol-driven, and targeted for fraternity and sorority members. METHOD: One fraternity and two sororities on five campuses participated in the program. A total of 780 participants completed pre- and posttest questionnaires. Posttest data were collected 1 academic year after pretest data collection. RESULTS: Results indicate that the program decreased positive attitudes toward alcohol consumption among program participants, with participants in the true experimental condition indicating greater disagreement than control participants (F = 3.05, 2/701 df, p < .05). Belief in myths about the etiology of alcoholism was reduced among experimental participants who did not actually attend the program, with those participants indicating greater disagreement than control or true experimental participants (F = 10.92, 2/702 df, p < .0001). The program had no apparent effect on alcohol consumption by experimental participants. CONCLUSIONS: The program's ability to influence behavior was hindered by systemic problems, such as trainer credibility and implementation infidelity, and probable participant psychological reactance. Training by professionals and mandatory attendance would set the stage for improved program effectiveness. Beyond that, an approach that emphasized how high-risk drinking norms jeopardize the goals of the fraternities and sororities might be better received than the current approach, which focuses on how individual attitudes, beliefs and behaviors lead to alcohol-related problems and alcoholism.

Jump start: a targeted substance abuse prevention program.

A substance abuse prevention and life skills program for economically disadvantaged, high sensation seeking African American teens was developed and tested in Cincinnati, Ohio. Formative research was conducted to determine program content and format. Over two implementations, 289 individuals in the target population were recruited as participants for the field test of the program. For the first implementation, participants were randomly selected from the city's summer youth employment program. For the second, a media campaign was designed to recruit participants. Process evaluation indicated that participants evaluated the program extremely positively. Outcome evaluation indicated that significant pretest differences between high and low sensation seekers were neutralized for liquor and marijuana in both years of the program and for attitude toward drugs in the first year of the program. These results suggest that sensation seeking is a useful message design and audience-targeting variable for substance abuse prevention program design. Implications and recommendations for future research are discussed.

Psychobiology of novelty seeking and drug seeking behavior.

There is considerable evidence that high novelty seekers are at increased risk for using drugs of abuse relative to low novelty seekers. This review examines the potential biological mechanism that may help explain the relationship between novelty seeking and drug seeking behavior. Evidence is summarized to suggest that exposure to novelty activates, at least in part, the same neural substrate that mediates the rewarding effects of drugs of abuse. It is argued that individual differences in response to novelty and drugs may relate to individual differences in the mesolimbic dopamine (DA) system of the brain. Individual differences in both novelty seeking and drug seeking behavior, while under some degree of genetic control, appear to be modifiable by early development experiences and this modification may relate to alterations in activity of the mesolimbic DA system. Within the context of this biological formulation, implications for the prevention and treatment of drug abuse are discussed.