Antisocial peer behavior and low parental knowledge of adolescents' activities are key interpersonal risk factors for adolescent substance use. However, how the magnitude of associations between these risk factors and substance use may vary across adolescence remains less well understood. The present study examined the age-varying associations of…

Initiation of substance use often starts during adolescence, with tobacco and alcohol use frequently preceding the use of marijuana and other illicit drugs. Studies suggest that a positive school climate may prevent substance use while promoting healthy student behaviors. The purpose of this study was to determine the longitudinal associations…

Adolescents' attitudes predict sexual behavior; therefore, attitudes are targeted in sexually transmitted infection (STI) and pregnancy prevention programs. However, attitudes and behaviors do not always align. Young adolescents who have had penile vaginal intercourse (PVI) and have attitudes supportive of PVI have two risk factors for future…

Sixth graders participating in the "Too Good for Drugs" (TGFD) prevention program in comparison to 6th graders not participating show different results by student risk level. Sixth graders from 20 middle schools were randomly assigned to receive the intervention and those from 20 paired middle schools assigned to serve as controls (N =…

This article presents the results of a mediation analysis of Project MYTRI (Mobilizing Youth for Tobacco Related Initiatives in India), a randomized, controlled trial of a multiple-component, school-based tobacco prevention program for sixth- to ninth-graders (n = 14,085) in Delhi and Chennai, India. A mediation analysis identifies "how"…

This exploratory study sought to determine if a popular school-based drug prevention program might be effective in schools that are making adequate yearly progress (AYP). Thirty-four schools with grades 6 through 8 in 11 states were randomly assigned either to receive Project ALERT (n = 17) or to a control group (n = 17); of these, 10 intervention…

This article represents a replication and extension of previous studies of the effects of "Project ALERT", a school-based substance use prevention program, on the prodrug beliefs of adolescents. Specifically, the authors' research examined "Project ALERT's" effects on adolescents' intentions to use substances in the future, beliefs about substance…

Objectives: To identify factors associated with cigarette smoking in the 6 th -grade through 10 th -grade youth population of Sarasota County, Florida. Methods: A closed-ended, quantitative survey was completed by 2004 youth and used to extract population-specific data on the correlates of cigarette use. Results: A range of factors influence…

Goals for Health was a National Cancer Institute funded program designed to impact health behaviors of adolescents living in rural Virginia and New York. This study examined three specific objectives: (a) to examine participants' perceptions of the program components and the relationship between program components and overall program perception,…

Mass media interventions are among the strategies recommended for youth cigarette smoking prevention, but little is known about optimal methods for reaching diverse youth audiences. Grades 4 through 12 samples of youth from four states (n = 1,230) rated smoking-prevention messages in classroom settings. Similar proportions of African American,…

This article describes the implementation of an innovative curriculum called Drugs-At-Work (DAW), which was evaluated in three phases. In phase-one, data collected after the third year of the study suggested that the curriculum had a significant impact on the fifth-grade participants, who in turn influenced their sixth-grade classmates the…

Cigarette smoking has been identified as the most important source of preventable morbidity and premature mortality worldwide (American Lung Association, 2002). Statistics show that youth who do smoke report having their first cigarette while in middle school, thus this is a critical opportunity for prevention (Eissenburg & Balster, 2000). This…

This article discusses the findings of Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) that were conducted as a formative assessment for Project MYTRI (Mobilizing Youth for Tobacco Related Initiatives in India), a randomized, multicomponent, school-based trial to prevent and control tobacco use among youth in India. Forty-eight FGDs were conducted with students (N…

This study reports on CHAMPS, a youth tobacco and prevention program intervention that focused on peer-led educational activities. Nineteen schools implemented a CHAMPS tobacco prevention program in grades 5, 6, and 7. Six schools served as nonintervention comparison sites. Baseline and follow-up questionnaires were completed by 1,412 students.…