Identifying Potential Drinking-Driving Recidivists

Abstract

Family resource programs are a set of principles and a compendium of program characteristics that respond to today's urgent need to reorient policies and services for families. Premises underlying program development and the origins from which program concepts are defined are discussed, as are applications of family resource principles and programs at the state level, in child-focused programs, and in conjunction with medical and mental health services. Current challenges faced by program developers and policymakers are presented, with a perpective that those issues will be pivotal in shaping the future of both the family resource movement and the field of human services at large.     

The Schools and Family-Oriented Prevention

Abstract

School-based family resource programs are examined as an illustration of a promising programmatic direction in family-school relations. A brief historical review of family-school interactions is provided and a continuum of family-school interactions is set forth, The article describes examples of diverse family resource programs, identifies problems in implementing and evaluating family resource programs, and suggests needed directions in strengthening the potential of school-based, prevention-oriented services to families.     

A Principle-Based Psychology of School Violence Prevention

Abstract

This paper proposes that school violence is primarily a function of the typically poor mental health of at-risk students. It asserts therefore, that the most leveraged solution to this vexing problem is for school personnel to teach these students how to re-kindle and experience their birthright of optimal psychological functioning. It suggests that this goal can best be achieved by helping both teachers and students understand a unique principle-based psychology that purports to account for all youthful perception, feelings and behavior. The three principles of this psychology (i.e., Mind, Consciousness, and Thought) are defined, classroom conditions conducive to teaching youth these principles delineated, contemporary research supporting the major assumptions of this paradigm summarized, and the results of school violence prevention programs based on this psychology presented.     

Introduction

Summary

Rapid population growth in the Third World has been accompanied by the creation of national family planning programs, which attempt to slow growth rates through programs aimed at the prevention of births. These programs represent large scale, modern bureaucratic health delivery systems that are transplanted from the industrialized world. They raise the problem of whether such modern organizations can have an impact on reproductive behavior throughout the Third World. A large scale research program on Asian family planning programs provides some of the answers to these critical questions. First, pooled cross-national time series data indicate that as family planning programs grew and their inputs of staff and funds increased, both contraceptive and birth prevention increased. Further, multiple regression analyses indicate a positive impact of program inputs on both contraceptive use rates and birth prevention, even when levels of social and economic development are controlled. There is also, however, much variance among countries in their patterns of both program performance and birth prevention. Four country cases are examined-the Philippines, Malaysia, South Korea, and Indonesia-to show that the character of political organization has an impact on the performance of these modern bureaucratic birth prevention organizations.     

The Implications of Female Risk Factors for Substance Abuse Prevention in Adolescent Girls

SUMMARY

Trends in substance abuse prevention have not adequately addressed the needs of girls and female adolescents. The precursors to substance use and abuse in adolescence are analyzed specifically from a gender-specific perspective. Female drug use as both a maladaptive and adaptive pattern of coping behavior is examined within a socio-cultural context. This new understanding points to the need for alternative models of prevention with particular attention to risk, resiliency and protective factors. The expanded role of the family therapist as “Family Life Cycle Specialist” within a prevention model will be highlighted.     

An Examination of Strategies for the Prevention of Gender-Based Violence at Four-Year Institutions of Higher Education

ABSTRACT

Although gender-based violence prevention programs at institutions of higher education (IHEs) are mandated by federal legislation, research focusing on the prevalence or content of programming is limited. The present exploratory research examines campus websites for a nationally representative sample of Title IX eligible IHEs that offer at least a four-year degree (n = 389), assessing whether IHEs offer prevention programs and whether programs include information cited in federal legislation or adhere to best practices. Differences in programming are also examined across IHE types. Results demonstrate that most IHEs report offering prevention pro- grams (86%), but that differences do exist across IHE type: 97% of public nonprofit IHEs report programming compared to 46% of tribal institutions. Disparities also exist across IHE types regarding the content of programming. Results highlight the need to advance prevention programming to better align with “what works” in prevention science or what is expected by federal legislation.     

A Community Model for Prevention Services

Abstract

Experience in Ionia county and Newaygo county in developing prevention services is described. These efforts, starting with needs assessment, illuminate principles underlying a community model for prevention services.     

Residual Effects of Repeated Bully Victimization Before the Age of 12 on Adolescent Functioning

Abstract

In this study, data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY 97) were used to examine early adolescent functioning as a result of being bullied. The NLSY 97 asked 4807 youths from age 12 to 14 whether they had been the victims of repeated bullying before the age of 12. In this study, 19.1% of the youths responded that they had experienced this repeated violence. It was found that the youth who have been bullied are exhibiting behaviors that are very different than their non-bullied peers. In every instance those individuals that admit to being repeatedly bullied before the age of 12 were less successful in negotiating various aspects of their life as a teenager. This underscores the need for programs that address bully prevention. Some programmatic initiatives aimed at reducing this victimized population are discussed.     

An Assessment of the Relationship Between the Quality of School-Based Tobacco Prevention Programs and Youth Tobacco Use

SUMMARY

This study presents data from an assessment of substance use prevention programs in 23 elementary and middle schools in northern and central Illinois. The quality of prevention programming was assessed based on program intensity, focus on tobacco, staff resources designated for prevention programs, and implementation of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations for tobacco prevention. Data from these four dimensions were used to calculate a Quality Index Score. Multilevel logistic regression analysis was used to assess the relationship between individual level variables, school level variables and the outcomes of reported current tobacco use, intent to use tobacco in the coming year, and perceived efficacy of substance use prevention programs. No significant effects were found, indicating that exclusive use of even high quality school-based prevention programs may not be sufficient in changing youth behavior. However, school-based prevention programs may be an important component of a broader ecological approach that uses multiple, community-wide strategies to promote normative change.     

Evaluation of an Incentive System at a Summer Camp for Youth Experiencing Homelessness

SUMMARY

Children who are homeless often experience emotional and behavioral problems. They also may have difficulty interacting with peers. Programs designed to reward positive behaviors may be successful in improving behavioral functioning for children experiencing emotional distress due to homelessness and related risk factors. Families experiencing homelessness may have a difficult time accessing mental health services. School settings may be optimal environments for implementing programs to improve behavioral and social development for these children. In this paper, we describe the implementation and outcomes of an incentive system, developed to improve school behaviors and interactions for children experiencing homelessness. This system was implemented during a summer camp designed to enrich reading skills. Teachers and aides administered bracelets as secondary reinforcers for positive and prosocial behaviors. Children could purchase primary reinforcers, such as toys and art supplies, with the bracelets. Results were positive, supporting project activities. Future programs and evaluation projects should focus on delivering and evaluating prevention and therapy services for youth experiencing homelessness.     

The School-Based Violence Prevention Planning Program

Abstract

Despite a growing research literature identifying evidence-based prevention strategies, schools often adopt programs lacking evidentiary support (Gottfredson and Gottfredson, 2002; Ringwalt et al., 2002). Further, when evidence-based programs are adopted they often suffer from poor implementation (Gottfredson and Gottfredson, 2002). This gap between research and practice defines a need for efforts to further the dissemination and effective implementation of evidence-based prevention strategies. The School-Based Violence Prevention Planning Program (SBV3P) is designed to improve the dissemination of evidence-based prevention strategies by building the capacity of school personnel to identify and effectively implement violence prevention strategies that have substantial empirical support. In this program, prevention planning teams from schools create violence prevention plans by progressing through a structured planning framework emphasizing data-driven decision making and the use of empirically validated violence prevention strategies. To build capacity, participating teams are provided with training, technical assistance, and online resources. Here we present the SBV3P and review a pilot test of this program.     

The Role of Community in Facilitating Service Utilization

SUMMARY

Guided by an integrated theory of parent participation, this study examines the role community characteristics play in influencing a parent's decision to use voluntary child abuse prevention programs. Multiple regression techniques were used to determine if different community characteristics, such as neighborhood distress and the community's ratio of caregivers to those in need of care, predict service utilization levels in a widely available home visiting program. Our findings suggest that certain community characteristics are significant predictors of the extent to which families utilize voluntary family supports over and above the proportion of variance explained by personal characteristics and program experiences. Contrary to our initial assumptions, however, new parents living in the most disorganized communities received more home visits than program participants living in more organized communities. The article concludes with recommendations on how community capacity building might be used to improve participant retention.     

Impact of Stressful Life Experiences and of Spiritual Well-Being on Trauma Symptoms

Abstract

Stressful life experiences, trauma symptoms, and spiritual well being were assessed in an adult college student population. Using a regression analysis, results indicated that both stressful life experiences and spirituality were significantly related to the level of trauma symptoms. Approximately 47% of the variance in trauma symptoms was predicted by the model. Spirituality was related to lowered traumatic stress. An additional finding was that trauma symptoms were significantly higher after the September 11 terrorist attacks than before the attacks, when samples from the same population were compared. Results are discussed in terms of the moderating effects of spirituality, and current literature on traumatic stress. Recommendations are made for the careful use of spirituality as a resource when addressing traumatic stress in prevention or intervention programs.     

School Violence Interventions in the Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiative

Abstract

The Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiative was designed to encourage collaboration among school districts and local community service providers in the provision of behavioral health prevention and early intervention efforts. These efforts would address the physical safety of students as well as provide mental health, violence prevention, and social skills services. One local SS/HS Initiative brought together community and school collaborators in an ambitious agenda that included 14 distinct programs that addressed the needs of over 110,000 students in a large school district. The purpose of the current paper is to report the results of the evaluation of two of the programs designed to reduce violent and disruptive behavior in schools. The programs include a school-based anger management program and a community-based, alternative-to-suspension program. Working in cooperation with program staff and the school district, quasi-experimental designs were used to measure change over time for students. The two studies demonstrate the application of multiple methodologies in evaluating the effectiveness of prevention and early intervention efforts with the aim of providing data to support program improvement and sustainability.     

Early Family Intervention

Abstract

Two general hypotheses relating to studies of early family intervention are discussed: (1) Pervasive and sustained gains in family development are correlaries of changes in the multi-risk mother's adaptation-competence and partnership quality, and (2) Efforts to change this functioning are most likely to be successful if the mother can develop a sustained and working relationship with the intervenor. The paper reviews sources which support these hypotheses: (1) Eight controlled follow-up intervention studies assessing and attempting to intervene in different family domains; and (2) Current ongoing studies focussing on the nature of the mother's relationship to the intervenor.     

Empowerment and Synergy

Abstract

This paper suggests an alternative to the commonly-held “scarcity paradigm” of thinking about valued human resources, which assumes individuals must compete because resources are scarce. The alternative-the “synergy paradigm”-is empitomized in “synergistic community,” where valued human resources are renewable and expanding, and distributed equitably to members, so that what is good for one is good for all and the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Three field studies present cross-cultural evidence for the functioning of empowerment within a synergistic paradigm. Empowerment is considered as access to and control of valued resources; the specific valued resource focused upon is community healing. The studies suggest that community healing resources can become renewable and expanding, as can the process of empowerment which accesses them. Community members share these resources, combining conflicting resources into unexpectedly effective treatment packages. Given present inequities in resource distribution, transformative education is offered as one means to support a shift in thinking toward synergy.     

Community and Families

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to present the social organization, social networks and interactive processes supporting family systems living in communities with marginal economies, in disadvantaged neighbourhoods (barrios) in Caracas, Venezuela. Twelve families inserted in four different communities were observed by four researchers, taking thirty-six ethnographic records of the families' daily life activities, as well as the interaction patterns between family members, and between the family system and the community and social organizations. Some characteristics of the organization, structure, and functioning of the underprivileged family systems as well as their interrelations to the community and to the educational and social institutions are shown. It is concluded that the analysis of these interactive patterns permits the researcher to explore the complexity of family life in poverty stricken communities, its culture and process of change.     

Design and Implementation of Parent Programs for a Community-Wide Adolescent Alcohol Use Prevention Program

SUMMARY

Project Northland is a comprehensive community trial designed to evaluate programs for the primary prevention of alcohol-related problems during adolescence. It uses a community-wide model, that includes both demand and supply reduction techniques. The first phase of Project Northland (grades 6-8) was completed with the effective implementation of multiple, complementary programs including a multi-year social behavioral curriculum, intensive parental involvement components, peer leadership opportunities, and community-level changes through the formation of local task forces. This article describes the process used for developing and implementing the comprehensive parent interventions used during the first phase of the research, highlighting the elements that led to the successful implementation of the programs with very high participation rates by parents, their young adolescents, teachers, and community members.