Objective: This study assessed the effectiveness of mutual aid groups for high school students. Methods: A quasi-experimental design was applied to 242 adolescents, where every other adolescent was assigned to the intervention or the control condition. The study evaluated the influence of implementing mutual aid groups in decreasing perceived risk…

Focuses on efforts in Connecticut to combat teenage pregnancy. Describes a model program that emphasizes a collaborative venture between a state-funded community-based pregnancy prevention program and a regional vocational-technical high school located in a rural setting. Describes Northeast Connecticut Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program and the…

Both the organizational studies literature and the community psychology literature discuss the importance of readiness when implementing change. Although each area emphasizes different characteristics, several common themes are present within the literature. The current study integrates and applies organizational and community psychology…

The term "at-risk" has changed significantly in its usage and some of the insights offered by college students studying at-risk youth are presented in this paper. Their observations are grouped under what it means to be an at-risk youth; measurement techniques, such as the status or cohort method, which are used to identify such youth; the…

This paper presents a family of studies associated with a large-scale evaluation conducted to assess the impact of research-based models and promising strategies on non-cognitive and cognitive school indicators. In a partnership between community-based organizations and a large urban public school district, project SHIELD provided services to…

Describes a nationally recognized service program that delivers integrated mental health and substance abuse services to children and youth with a wide range of problems. The model incorporates elements of primary and secondary prevention and community outreach into service delivery. Program components are discussed in detail. (RJM)

Describes how a system approach, often used in instructional systems design, was applied to the solution of a societal problem, i.e., how to enable small communities with limited resources to carry out successful substance abuse prevention programs involving training and education. Needs assessment is discussed and curriculum design is described.…

A model for providing a continuum of comprehensive school-community services incorporates systems of prevention, early intervention, and care. Key components for addressing barriers to learning include classroom-focused enabling, student and family assistance, community outreach, home involvement, support for transitions, and crisis/emergency…