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Background: There is growing optimism regarding the use of screening and brief intervention (SBI) to identify and reduce risk behaviors during adolescence. However, understanding successful SBI implementation remains unclear. We previously reported the effects of CONNECT, a school-based SBI, on reducing the primary outcome, the rate of monthly alcohol use among primarily American Indian (AI) and White high school students in the Cherokee Nation. In this paper, we describe the design and implementation process for CONNECT. Method: CONNECT was designed to reduce alcohol use with 2 key strategies: (1) SBI with motivational interviewing (MI), implemented by a school-based CONNECT coach, and (2) a media campaign. Results: Implementation results indicate that during each semester of the 2-1/2 years, between 73% and 100% of eligible students had at least one 15-minute meeting with a CONNECT coach. Postcards and posters with positive communication tips for parents were displayed in CONNECT communities. No statistically significant differences occurred between the CONNECT and control groups on the hypothesized intermediate outcomes. Conclusions: We describe implementation of a universal, school-based, culturally adapted SBI that was effective in reducing alcohol use among youth living in the Cherokee Nation. Schools provide an important context for universal delivery of SBI interventions, such as CONNECT, for diverse adolescent populations, including AI youth.

Describes Minnesota DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) PLUS, a randomized trial of 24 schools and communities. During 1999-2001, students in eight schools will receive the DARE curriculum in 7th grade. Eight other schools will receive the curriculum plus additional parent involvement, peer leadership, and community components in 7th and 8th grades. Eight other schools will be controls. (SM)

Alcohol use among youth continues to be a major public health problem. Alcohol use during adolescence is associated with serious physical and psychosocial consequences.'2 According to the Monitoring the Future [...]

This paper describes the rationale, conceptual framework, and program components of a peer participation program for prevention of alcohol use among young adolescents. The peer participation program was one component of Project Northland, a community-wide program that seeks to prevent or delay onset of alcohol use among a cohort of young adolescents. The peer participation program, implemented in 20 northeastern Minnesota schools when students were in seventh grade, consisted of student groups who planned supervised, alcohol-free activities for themselves and their classmates. Program goals included 1) providing peer leadership and social support for non-use of alcohol, 2) creating opportunities for alternative behaviors to alcohol use, thereby 3) creating a norm of non-use among young adolescents. (J Sch Health. 1994;64(8):318-322), At least one-third of all adolescents experience problems related to their alcohol consumption. Those who begin drinking before age 15 are at increased risk of sustained problematic use in the [...]

The research community has criticized Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) because the extant literature indicates a lack of evidence that the elementary school program prevents drug use. Yet D.A.R.E. continues to be the most widely implemented drug use prevention program in the United States and has considerable community support. To date, the junior high D.A.R.E. program has not been evaluated. The Minnesota DARE PLUS Project is a randomized trial of 24 schools and communities. During 1999-2001, students in eight schools will receive the junior high D.A.R.E. curriculum in 7th grade; eight schools also will receive the curriculum as well as additional parent involvement, peer leadership, and community components in the 7th and 8th grades; and eight schools will serve as controls. This article describes the background and conceptualization, the curriculum and additional intervention components, and the evaluation methods of the DARE PLUS Project. (J Sch Health. 2000;70(3):84-88), Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) is a controversial topic in the prevention literature. The D.A.R.E. elementary curriculum has been criticized by researchers for its short-term and modest effects on adolescent [...]