Designing an Effective Prevention Program: Principles Underlying the Rand Smoking and Drug Prevention Experiment

摘要

The Hilton Foundation asked Rand to design, implement, and evaluate a school-based smoking and drug prevention program based on the social influence model of drug-use initiation. The resulting program-project ALERT (Adolescent Learning Experiences in Resistance Training)-uses methods thought to be effective in preventing cigarette use, while adapting them to the distinct beliefs and pressures surrounding initiation into other drugs. An important objective of the experiment is to test the program in a variety of school environments, thus providing evidence about the program's effectiveness that is generalizable to a broad spectrum of the school population. Project ALERT is designed for seventh graders, a group vulnerable to social influences but not yet heavy users of cigarettes or other drugs. It seeks to prevent non-users from experimenting with drugs and experimental or occasional users from making the transition to regular use.