2009 · Study · English
Effects of the Communities That Care Model in Pennsylvania on Change in Adolescent Risk and Problem Behaviors
Feinberg, M., Jones, D., Greenberg, M., Osgood, D. W., & Bontempo, D.
Feinberg, M., Jones, D., Greenberg, M., Osgood, D. W., & Bontempo, D. (2009). Effects of the Communities That Care Model in Pennsylvania on Change in Adolescent Risk and Problem Behaviors. Prevention Science, 11(2), 163–171. doi.org/10.1007/s11121-009-0161-x
Summary
Quasi-experimental effectiveness study of Communities That Care in Pennsylvania, where the model was disseminated state-wide, published in Prevention Science as “Effects of the Communities That Care Model in Pennsylvania on Change in Adolescent Risk and Problem Behaviors”. The authors note that few comprehensive models for disseminating evidence-based programmes have shown positive youth outcomes at population level while maintaining fidelity and sustainability, and test whether CTC did. Using biannual anonymous in-school surveillance surveys and multilevel models, they examined change over time in risk and protective factors, grades, delinquency and substance use in CTC versus non-CTC communities. Young people in CTC communities showed less growth in delinquency than those elsewhere, but no difference in substance use. In grade cohorts exposed to evidence-based universal prevention programmes, risk factors rose more slowly and protective factors and academic performance declined more slowly than in comparison cohorts. The authors conclude that coalitions can affect adolescent risk and behaviour at population level when evidence-based programmes are used.