TY - JOUR
T1 - Effects of the communities that care system on cross-sectional profiles of adolescent substance use and delinquency
AU - Van Horn, M. Lee
AU - Fagan, Abigail A.
AU - Hawkins, J. David
AU - Oesterle, Sabrina
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported by Research Grant R01DA015183 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse awarded to J. David Hawkins. We are grateful to the co-funding organizations: the National Cancer Institute, Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institute on Mental Health, and National Institute on Child Health and Development. Thanks are due to John Briney for making 10 years of data usable.
PY - 2014/8
Y1 - 2014/8
N2 - Introduction Adolescent substance use and delinquency are major public health problems. Although community-based prevention strategies have been recommended to produce population-level reductions in rates of substance use and delinquency, few models show evidence of effectiveness. Purpose To test the efficacy of a community-based prevention system, Communities That Care (CTC), in reducing community rates of problem behaviors, particularly effects on specific profiles of adolescent substance use and delinquency in eighth- and tenth-graders. Methods Twenty-four communities were randomized to CTC intervention or control groups. Data were collected from 14,099 8th- and 10th-grade students in these communities using anonymous cross-sectional surveys in 2004 and 2010 and analyzed in 2012. Outcomes were four different profiles of self-reported substance use and delinquency in 8th grade and five profiles in 10th grade. Results In the cross-sectional 2010 data, there was no intervention effect on the probability of experimenting with substances or of substance use coupled with delinquent activities for either grade. However, tenth-graders in intervention communities were significantly less likely to be alcohol users than those in control communities (OR=0.69, CI=0.48, 1.00). Conclusions Cross-sectional population surveys showed evidence of CTC effects in reducing tenth-grade alcohol users but not experimenters. A community-wide reduction in adolescent alcohol use is important because alcohol is the most commonly used illicit substance during adolescence, and early initiation of alcohol use has been associated with alcohol-related disorders in adulthood. Failure to find hypothesized effects on experimenters qualifies these results.
AB - Introduction Adolescent substance use and delinquency are major public health problems. Although community-based prevention strategies have been recommended to produce population-level reductions in rates of substance use and delinquency, few models show evidence of effectiveness. Purpose To test the efficacy of a community-based prevention system, Communities That Care (CTC), in reducing community rates of problem behaviors, particularly effects on specific profiles of adolescent substance use and delinquency in eighth- and tenth-graders. Methods Twenty-four communities were randomized to CTC intervention or control groups. Data were collected from 14,099 8th- and 10th-grade students in these communities using anonymous cross-sectional surveys in 2004 and 2010 and analyzed in 2012. Outcomes were four different profiles of self-reported substance use and delinquency in 8th grade and five profiles in 10th grade. Results In the cross-sectional 2010 data, there was no intervention effect on the probability of experimenting with substances or of substance use coupled with delinquent activities for either grade. However, tenth-graders in intervention communities were significantly less likely to be alcohol users than those in control communities (OR=0.69, CI=0.48, 1.00). Conclusions Cross-sectional population surveys showed evidence of CTC effects in reducing tenth-grade alcohol users but not experimenters. A community-wide reduction in adolescent alcohol use is important because alcohol is the most commonly used illicit substance during adolescence, and early initiation of alcohol use has been associated with alcohol-related disorders in adulthood. Failure to find hypothesized effects on experimenters qualifies these results.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.amepre.2014.04.004
DO - 10.1016/j.amepre.2014.04.004
M3 - Article
C2 - 24986217
AN - SCOPUS:84904625340
SN - 0749-3797
VL - 47
SP - 188
EP - 197
JO - American journal of preventive medicine
JF - American journal of preventive medicine
IS - 2
ER -