2011 · Study · English

Sustained decreases in risk exposure and youth problem behaviors after installation of the Communities That Care prevention system in a randomized trial

Hawkins, J. D., Oesterle, S., Brown, E. C., Monahan, K. C., Abbott, R. D., Arthur, M. W., & Catalano, R. F.

Hawkins, J. D., Oesterle, S., Brown, E. C., Monahan, K. C., Abbott, R. D., Arthur, M. W., & Catalano, R. F. (2011). Sustained decreases in risk exposure and youth problem behaviors after installation of the Communities That Care prevention system in a randomized trial. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 166(2), 141. doi.org/10.1001/archpediatrics.2011.183

Summary

Follow-up outcome paper from the Community Youth Development Study testing whether Communities That Care reduces community-wide risk and problem behaviour six years after installation and one year after study-provided resources ended. In 2003, 24 small towns in seven US states were matched in pairs within state and randomised to CTC or control; a cohort of 4,407 fifth-graders was surveyed annually through grade 10 (2004–2009). Coalitions in CTC towns received training and technical assistance, used epidemiological data to identify elevated risk and depressed protective factors and implemented programmes from a menu of tested, effective interventions. Targeted risk factors rose less steeply between grades 5 and 10 in CTC than in control communities and were significantly lower in grade 10; the incidence of delinquency, alcohol use and cigarette use, and the prevalence of current smoking and past-year delinquent and violent behaviour, were also significantly lower. The authors conclude that CTC can produce enduring community-wide reductions beyond the years of supported implementation.