2015 · Study · English

Prevention of Problem Behaviours among Adolescents: The Impact of the Communities that Care Strategy in the Netherlands (2008–2011)

Jonkman, H., Aussems, C., Steketee, M., Boutellier, H., & Cuijpers, P.

Jonkman, H., Aussems, C., Steketee, M., Boutellier, H., & Cuijpers, P. (2015). Prevention of Problem Behaviours among Adolescents: The Impact of the Communities that Care Strategy in the Netherlands (2008–2011). International Journal of Developmental Science, 9(1), 37–52. doi.org/10.3233/dev-13121

Summary

The study asks whether the Communities That Care prevention system in the Netherlands changed the targeted risk and protective factors and, in turn, problem behaviour among 12- to 18-year-olds. Method: quasi-experimental design with ten communities (five CTC, five comparison), followed longitudinally over the implementation period 2008 to 2011; groups were balanced with propensity scores and effects estimated with multilevel models. Results: no effect of CTC could be detected on the broad range of behaviours examined, nor on the initiation of drinking or smoking. The authors attribute the divergence from the earlier experimental US findings to threats to internal validity and to the design limits of this community study. Conclusion: effectiveness trials at community level should identify, monitor, address and report such validity threats early. For the European evidence base this is the most important null finding on CTC.