Preventing Problem Behavior Among Middle School Students
Condition: Substance Use Disorders; Health Promotion
MeSH terms: Substance-Related Disorders; Problem Behavior
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      Problem behaviors such as drug use, violence, and school misconduct increase during
      adolescence. This study evaluated a program designed to prevent problem behaviors in middle
      school students; the program includes classroom instruction for students and home instruction
      for parents.
    

Detailed description: 
      The prevalence of problem behaviors, such as school misconduct, underachievement, and
      dropout; tobacco, alcohol, and other drug use; and violence and delinquency, increases
      dramatically during adolescence. These behaviors place youths at an increased risk for school
      failure, involvement in the criminal justice system, and chronic substance abuse.

      The purpose of this study was to test the efficacy of a comprehensive program of
      interventions, called Going Places, that includes participatory classroom curriculum, parent
      education, and enhanced school environment. The primary goal of these components was to help
      students learn social competence skills that will help them make positive decisions in their
      lives. The classroom curriculum component was integrated into the participating schools'
      regular Language Arts curriculum in grades 6 through 8. The curriculum provided instruction
      in and opportunities to practice interpersonal communication, self-management, problem
      solving, and conflict management. Brief videotapes with student actors served as trigger
      films to stimulate student interest, provide models, and motivate prosocial behavior. Parents
      in the participating schools received instruction via videotape and print materials and
      participated in student homework exercises. The emphasis was on encouraging parents to remain
      involved, adopt creative monitoring practices, and foster adolescent autonomy by establishing
      rules and conditions leading incrementally to greater independence.

      Students in the seven Charles County, Maryland, middle schools were randomized either to the
      Going Places intervention group or to the usual education control group. The intervention was
      sequentially structured, with curricula implemented in each grade of middle school.
      Questionnaires were administered to all middle school students at the beginning of the 6th
      grade (before the intervention) to establish baseline levels of substance use, school
      misconduct, parent and peer influences, and school climate. Students completed surveys in the
      spring of grades 6, 7, and 8. A final follow-up survey was completed in the fall of ninth
      grade. The surveys assessed standard measures of tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drug use,
      school misconduct, and participation in school activities. The surveys also included items
      related to psychosocial, parental, and school factors.
    

Intervention name(s): Going Places: School program to prevent problem behavior
Intervention type(s): Behavioral
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Factorial Assignment
Masking: Single
Primary purpose: Prevention
Keywords: Adolescence; Parenting; School; Primary Prevention; School-based intervention