This resource corresponds to Day 1.

Current findings suggest that substance abuse and violence prevention programs can improve school performance and academic achievement. Several studies that support this conclusion are reviewed below.

• Long-term follow-up of inner-city children who had participated in a comprehensive, K-5 prevention program showed positive findings in the areas of behavior and school performance. Students receiving the full intervention reported less heavy drinking, fewer violent delinquent acts, less frequent sexual intercourse, fewer sexual partners, and less reported pregnancy by age eighteen. They also had higher school-reported grade point averages and self-reported achievement, and were less likely to repeat a grade (Hawkins et al., 1999).
  
  
• An outcome evaluation conducted for seven Project SHIELD (Supporting Healthy Individuals and Environments for Life Development) research-based and best practices interventions showed both short-term (one-year) and long-term (two-year) positive effects on students using both cognitive and non-cognitive measures. Non-cognitive outcome measures included unexcused absences, unexcused tardiness, and disciplinary actions. Grade point average was used to measure cognitive outcomes (Neace et al., 2002).
  
  
• A longitudinal evaluation of the multifaceted school-based prevention program, Raising Healthy Children (RHC) showed that RHC students, compared to their peers in a control group, had significantly higher teacher- and parent-reported academic performance and a stronger commitment to school. In addition, teachers reported that RHC students showed a significant decrease in antisocial behaviors and increased social competency (Catalano et al., 2002).
  
  
• A report on the impact of Project Achieve, a school-wide prevention and early intervention program for at-risk elementary-aged students, showed improved academic achievement among program participants. During both years of implementation, all of the elementary and middle schools participating in the program met the state’s accountability standards. During the first year, nearly all participating students scored at or above grade level for reading and mathematics. During the second year, students participating in the program showed significantly higher gains in mathematics and reading than non-participants (Baenen and Speas, 2004).
  
  
• A study evaluating the effectiveness of Positive Action, a multi-component school-wide prevention program, indicated that program participation improved student behavior, school involvement, and academic achievement into high school. (Flay and Allred, 2003).
  
  
• A two-year follow-up study of Early Risers, a program that targets elementary school children at high risk for early development of conduct problems and their families, showed a connection between program participation and improved academic achievement. Academic achievement was measured through standardized reading and arithmetic tests (August et al., 2001).
  
  
• The Study Group on Serious and Violent Juvenile (SVJ) Offenders, a group of 22 researchers convened by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention to study the population of SVJ offenders, found that various school-based interventions designed to reduce violent behaviors produced higher levels of academic achievement (Catalano et al., 1999). Examples cited by this group included the following:
  
  
  • An intervention program in New Haven, CT, which included parental involvement and a multidisciplinary mental health team, helped students in two inner-city public elementary schools improve academically
    
  • The Positive Action through Holistic Education (PATHE) program, a comprehensive school organization intervention for secondary school students in South Carolina. High school students participating in the program reported significant decreases in delinquency and drug involvement and fewer school suspensions and punishment than non-participants. Students in the program who received special academic and counseling services reported significantly higher grades and were less likely to repeat a grade than students who did not receive these services.
    
  • A middle school program in Charleston, SC, which included a revised school discipline policy, a behavior tracking system, consistent classroom organization and management, and behavior modification techniques. Evaluation revealed that the program improved students’ grade point averages and decreased their susceptibility to peer pressure to use drugs.

Resources

August, G. J., Realmuto, G. M., Hektner, J. M., Bloomquist, M. L. (2001). An integrated components preventive intervention for aggressive elementary school children: The Early Risers program. Journal of Consulting & Clinical Psychology, 69(4), 614–626.

Baenen, N. and Speas, C. (2004). Project ACHIEVE: Adapting the Brazosport Model to a Large LEA. Paper for presentation at the American Educational Research Association meeting, San Diego, CA., April 14, 2004. Available at http://www.wcpss.net/evaluation-research/reports/2004/0410achieve_aera.pdf.

Catalano, R. F., Loeber, R., and McKinney, K. C. (1999). School and Community Interventions to Prevent Serious and Violent Offending. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention: Juvenile Justice Bulletin, October, 1999.

Catalano, R. F., Mazza, J. J., Harachi, T. W., Abbott, R. D., Haggerty, K. P., and Fleming, C. B. (2002). Raising healthy children through enhancing social development in elementary school: Results after 1.5 years. Journal of School Psychology, 41, 143–164.

Colsman M. and Wulfert E. (2002). Conflict resolution style as an indicator of adolescents' substance use and other problem behaviors. Addictive Behaviors, 27(4), 633–48.

Drug Abuse in the Decade of the Brain, Gabriel G. Nahas and T. F. Burks, Eds., IOS Press, 1997.

Flay, B. R., and Allred, C. G. (2003). Long-Term Effects of the Positive Action Program. American Journal of Health Behavior, 27(S1), S6–21.

Finn, K. V. and Frone, M. R. (2003). Predictors of Aggression at School: The Effect of School-Related Alcohol Use. NASSP Bulletin, 87(636), p38–54.

Hawkins, J. D., Vatalano, R. F., Kosterman, R., Abbott, R., and Hill, K. G.(1999). Preventing adolescent health-risk behaviors by strengthening protection during childhood. Archives of Pediatric Adolescent Medicine, 153, 226–234.

Neace, W. P., Munoz, M. A., Weber, J., and Johnson, K. (2002). Evaluating a Safety Net for At-Risk Students: Impact of Research-Based Interventions on Non-Cognitive and Cognitive Measures. Louisville, KY: Jefferson County Public Schools.