Aligning Academics with Prevention Hayden D' Center, Jr', Ph'D' Senior Program Manager, PIRE SECAPT

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Aligning Academics with PreventionHayden D.
Center, Jr., Ph.D.Senior Program Manager,
PIRESECAPTPresented January 10 National
Grants to Reduce Alcohol Abuse Conference
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Academic Standards

• Achievement
• Grades
• Attendance
• Graduation

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Academic Indicators Linking Violence and
Substance Abuse Prevention to Academic Success
USDE online course

• Educational Outcomes short-term such as grades
  or performance on standardized achievement tests,
  or longer term, such as graduation rates
• Educational Behaviors attendance, behavioral
  problems that cause lost days of learning

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Intervening Variables for Achieving Academic
Standards

• The role of substance abuse
• Boredom
• Low self-concept and inadequate social skills
• Conflict with teachers
• Non-facilitative school and classroom environment
• Awkward or unsuccessful transitions from one
  school to another
• Violence and victimization

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Continued

• Lack of parental involvement
• Stress and pressures in family and peer relations
• Teacher expectancies and beliefs
• A sense of alienation and isolation
• Differing cultural and gender expectations
• National Outcomes Work Group University of
  Arizona

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Risk Protective Factors Theory

• Risk factors predict substance abuse and
  protective factors can buffer risk factors
• Risk and protective factors have cumulative
  effect
• Risk and protective factors occur in communities,
  families, schools, and individuals and are
  subject to change

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Risk Protective Factors Theory

• To prevent substance abuse, reduce risk factors
  and increase protective factors throughout a
  childs life
• Risk and protective factors can be influenced by
  individual, family, school, and environmental
  change strategies.

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Risk Protective Factors Theory

• Similar to public health model of disease
  prevention- decrease risk and increase protection
• Different adolescent health and behavior problems
  share common risk factors
• Substance abuse
• Violence
• Delinquency
• School drop out
• Teen pregnancy

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Protective Factors

• Individual characteristics
• Bonding
• Healthy beliefs and clear standards

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The Social Development Strategy
Healthy Behaviors
Healthy Beliefs Clear Standards

• Bonding
• Attachment
• Commitment

Opportunities
Recognition
Skills
Individual Characteristics
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Developmental Assets Framework

• Emphasizes strengths in people
• Focuses on youth as resources, not problems
• Focuses on increasing the number of assets
  present in youths lives
• Is a promising framework

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Resiliency Approach

• Focuses on how children bounce back in the
  face of adversity
• Based largely on the work of Emmy Werner
• Includes several factors which foster resilience
  in kids
• Is a promising approach

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School Protective Factors

• School bonding
• School attendance
• Positive instructional climate
• School responsiveness to student needs

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Meeting the needs of system stakeholders
facilitates sustainability (Johnson, Hays, Center
Daly, 2004)

• The innovation must meet the needs of its
  intended users in that
• It is not too complex for users to implement
• It is effective
• It is compatible with users philosophical
  orientation
• It is compatible with organizations internal
  agenda
• It is perceived as beneficial by users
• The users are personally committed to the
  innovation

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What the Latest Research Shows Linking
Violence and Substance Abuse Prevention to
Academic Success USDE online course

• Most studies agree that school failure is one of
  the most consistent risk factors of substance use
• Youth who have problems with school work are more
  likely than others to be involved in many types
  of risk behavior
• Youth involved in a Social Skills Training group
  increased in several pro-social behaviors and
  grade point averages compared to a control group

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What the Latest Research Shows - Continued

• Students who participated in STEP demonstrated
  the following fewer absences, higher GPAs,
  stable self-concept scores, and lower drop-out
  rates
• PATHE students compared to a control group
  demonstrated decrease in delinquency and drug
  use, reduction in suspension rates increased
  attachment to school, higher graduation rates,
  higher attendance and increase in other positive
  behaviors

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Massachusetts Department of Education Learning
and Support Services (2000)

• A study comparing three groups of high school
  students found that program students were less
  likely to be suspended
• Another program (Project Support) produced
  positive outcomes in both behavior and school
  performance. These included less crime against
  people and property, better attendance, less
  tardiness, higher academic achievement scores in
  reading, math, and language, and increased
  pro-social attitudes.

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Vermont Youth Risk Behavior Survey (1999-2001)

• Generally a negative relationship between
  substance use and grades. As substance use
  increases, grades decrease.
• Alcohol Use (Grades 8-12) 37 of those
  reporting getting As and Bs reported using
  alcohol while 67 of those students who reported
  getting Ds reported alcohol use
• Not able to determine causal relationship

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The Challenge Newsletter (2006)

• Data from the 19982001 California Healthy Kids
  Survey (CHKS) indicate a strong link between
  academic achievement and students overall health
  and resilience. Schools perform better when
  students have fewer health risks, such as drug
  use or poor nutrition, and more protective
  factors like caring relationships within school.

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Wilson, D.B., Gottfredson, D.C., Najaka, S.S.
(2001)School-Based Prevention of Problem
Behaviors A Meta-Analysis

• A number of programs have demonstrated
  effectiveness and impact academic standards
• These programs are rarely implemented in
  isolation
• An important question becomes which combinations
  work best?

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Overlap of Prevention Programs and Academic
Standards

• Hawkins and Catalano found that improving bonding
  to school reduced substance usage and increased
  commitment to school
• The same study found that academic achievement
  test scores also increased

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Prevention Programs that Impact Academic
Achievement

• Greater enjoyment of class and motivation to go
  further in school (CDP)
• Higher general self-esteem and academic
  self-esteem (CDP)
• Significant gains in academic achievement (Early
  Risers Skills for Success, Positive Action, Safe
  Children Schools and Families)
• Decreased Absenteeism (Positive Action)

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Continued

• Suspensions reduced (Positive Action)
• Overall discipline referrals decreased (Project
  Achieve)
• Grade retentions decreased (Project Achieve)
• School bus discipline referrals to the office
  decreased (Project Achieve)
• Reading scores increased (Safe Children)

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Continued

• Parents maintained enthusiasm for social
  involvement in childrens school life (Safe
  Children)

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Families and Schools Together

• Prevention of school failure by the targeted
  child
• Enhance Family School relationship
• Increase social skills and attention span

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Results

• 20 teacher-reported improvement at school
  (bullying, hitting, stealing, and lying)
• 25 parent-reported improvement at home
  (misconduct, anxiety, and attention-span
  problems)
• 15 teacher-reported reduction in attention-span
  problems

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Reconnecting Youth

• Selected program for High School students at high
  risk for dropping out
• Partnership model involving peers, school
  personnel, and parents to develop interventions
  to
• Decrease drug involvement
• Increase school performance
• Decrease emotional distress

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Results

• 18 improvement in grades in all classes
• 7.5 increase in credits earned per semester
• 48 decrease in anger and aggression problems
• 23 increase in self-efficacy
• 33 reported ending alcohol use

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Project Toward No Drug Use

• High School Youth
• Social skills training
• Decision-making
• Understand sequence of substance abuse
• Explore myths concerning substance abuse
• State commitment to discuss substance abuse with
  others

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Results

• Weapons carrying among males reduced 25
• Alcohol use decreased 9
• Other substance usage decreased from 22-27

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Too Good for Drugs

• K-12 curriculum, developmentally appropriate for
  each grade level
• Personal and interpersonal skills
• Attitudes towards atod
• Knowledge of negative consequences
• Positive peer norms

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Results

• Increase in social and resistance skills
• Increase in goals and decision making
• Increase in negative attitudes towards violence
• Fights reduced in High School by 45
• Alcohol decreased in Middle School by 38 and in
  High School by 50

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All Stars

• Middle school-age adolescents
• Develop positive ideals and future aspirations
• Establish positive norms
• Building strong personal commitments
• Promoting bonding with school and community
  organizations
• Promoting positive parental attentiveness

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Results

• Increased bonding to school
• Increased commitment to avoid substance abuse
• Increased adoption of a belief in positive peer
  group norms
• Reduced substance abuse by 40 to 60
• Reduced sexual activity by 80

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Class Action

• High School, part of Project Northland but can
  stand alone
• Interactive peer-led sessions
• Designed to change negative peer pressure into
  positive peer pressure
• Develops decision-making, social competence, and
  leadership skills

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Results

• Trend data showed significantly less increase in
  alcohol use
• Reduction in binge drinking

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Project Northland

• 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students
• Parent involvement and education programs
• Strives to change how parents communicate with
  children

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Life Skills Training

• Elementary and Middle School components
• Drug resistance skills
• Personal self-management skills
• General social skills
• Results reduction in a number of substance use
  behaviors

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Project SUCCESS

• Alternative School students 14 to 18 years of age
• Information dissemination, normative and
  preventative education, counseling and skills
  training, problem identification and referral,
  community-based processes, and environmental
  approaches
• Decreased problem behavior and atod usage

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Lion-Quest Skills for Adolescence

• 10-14 year olds
• Essential social and emotional competencies
• Good citizenship skills
• Strong positive character
• Ethic of service to others within a caring and
  consistent environment
• Reduced a number of atod behaviors

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Project Alert

• 11 to 14 years of age
• Motivate adolescents against drug use
• Teach adolescents skills and strategies to resist
  pro-drug pressures
• Establish nondrug-using norms
• Decrease in marijuana initiation and usage
• Decrease in cigarette smoking
• Reduction in students pro-drug attitudes and
  beliefs

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Families That Care Guiding Good Choices

• 8 to 13 years of age
• Gives parents knowledge and skills needed to
  guide their children through early adolescence
• Positive parental involvement emphasized as
  protective factor that increases school success
  and buffers risk factors
• Strengthen family expectations for behavior and
  enhance family bonding
• Teach skills to parents and children that
  encourage children to resist drug use
• Decreased several atod behaviors

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Local Evaluations of Programs

• Logic models should consider academic indicators
  as well as substance use behaviors and
  consequences
• Local data should be used when possible to
  develop the case for the linkage between academic
  indicators and prevention programs
• Evaluation designs should be sensitive to
  academic indicator change as well as substance
  use behaviors (trend analysis as an example)

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Disseminating Evaluation Findings

• Know the audience that will receive the
  information
• Make the data relevant to the locality
• Develop a data dissemination plan early in the
  project and make sure to keep administrators and
  other key personnel informed

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Educational Standards Linked to Program Outcomes
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Summary

• There is considerable overlap of risk and
  protective factors for academic success and
  prevention of problem behaviors
• Several programs have shown changes in important
  academic indicators as well as reduction in ATOD
  use.
• More work is needed

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Important Information Sources

• www.secapt.org
• www.casel.org
• http//www.ed.gov/print/admins/lead/safety/trainin
  g/linking/acadmic.html
• www.samhsa.gov