Evaluation of a drug abuse prevention program: A field experiment

Abstract

The central aim of this study was to evaluate Project PRIDE, a school-based affective education program offered in select schools since 1970 and throughout the entire Philadelphia Public School System since 1981. The primary purpose of the program is to increase youth's resistance to drug use and abuse through weekly small group counseling sessions. The 12 weekly student sessions focused on developing self-awareness, life skills, knowledge, and appropriate attitudes about drugs. Project PRIDE also developed training modules for teachers and parents. Evaluation was by means of a true experimental pretest-posttest design, with random assignment to treatment and control groups. Measures of attitudes, self-reported drug use, and behavioral intentions were administered to students, teachers, and parents; process evaluation measures of the student component were collected throughout the treatment period as well. Data analyses indicate that, while a few of the broad aims of the prevention program were not met, there were reliable changes in the intented direction in many of the students' attitudes and intentions. Student attitudes toward drug use and knowledge about drugs both improved. Project PRIDE participation was associated with a relative decrease in willingness to experiment with drugs, even though all groups showed strongly negative attitudes toward drug use. Treatment interacted with sex of student and/or SES on a number of items. Generally, effects were more pronounced for girls and for low SES students. All groups of participants felt they gained significant knowledge and skills from the program. Other effects for parents and teachers were infrequent and inconsistent.