Adolescent Drug Use Prevention

Common Features of Promising Community Programs Gao ID: PEMD-92-2 January 16, 1992

GAO examined the design, implementation, and results of 138 community-based drug abuse education programs for adolescents. While definitive evidence is not yet available on program effectiveness, some programs appear to be making much more headway than others. GAO found similarities in how the most promising programs deliver services, even though the services themselves were often quite different. GAO identified six features common to programs associated with high levels of participant enthusiasm and attachment; these were (1) a comprehensive strategy, (2) an indirect approach to drug abuse prevention, (3) the goal of empowering youth, (4) a participatory approach, (5) a culturally sensitive orientation, and (6) highly structured activities. Programs experienced common problems in six areas of program implementation: (1) maintaining continuity with their participants, (2) coordinating and integrating their service components, (3) providing accessible services, (4) obtaining funds, (5) attracting necessary leadership and staff, and (6) conducting evaluations.

GAO found that: (1) successful drug abuse prevention programs took a positive approach toward youth and stressed skills learning, motivational techniques, and coping tactics necessary for dealing with the multiple problems in participants' lives; (2) successful programs offered services stressing five different focus areas in which participants often experienced problems, including family, peers, school, community, and the individual; (3) the most promising programs shared a comprehensive strategy, an indirect approach toward drug abuse prevention, the goal of empowering youth, a participatory approach, a culturally sensitive orientation, and highly structured activities; and (4) the programs often had difficulty maintaining continuity with their participants, coordinating and integrating their service components, providing accessible services, obtaining funds, attracting necessary leadership and staff, and conducting program evaluations.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

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