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A randomized, controlled trial of a school-based intervention to reduce violence and substance use in predominantly Latino high school students.

Abstract

PURPOSE
Few studies have rigorously evaluated school-based interventions to reduce violence and substance use in high school students, especially Latinos. This study assessed the effects of a school-based program on reducing violence and substance use among primarily Latino high school students.
METHODS
Ninth-grade students at risk for violence and substance use were randomized to intervention or control groups. The intervention was based on an existing program developed for white and African American youth. Data on smoking, alcohol and drug use, fighting, and grades were collected at baseline and 4 and 8 months post enrollment.
RESULTS
There were 55 students in the control and 53 in the intervention group; 74% of controls and 78% of intervention students were Latino. There were no significant changes in fighting, smoking, or alcohol or drug use, from baseline to 8-month follow-up, between the intervention and control group. Pre and post grade point average (GPA) decreased from 2.3 at baseline to 1.8 at follow-up (p<.01) in the intervention group, with no significant between-group changes in GPA from baseline to follow-up.
CONCLUSIONS
This school-based program showed no reduction in violence or substance use. The findings suggest that a program targeting non-Latino youth may not be optimal for reducing violence and substance use in Latinos; greater attention to cultural appropriateness and racial/ethnic differences may be needed. There was a decrease in intervention-group GPA but no significant change compared with controls. Further studies of the impact of school-based substance use and violence prevention programs on academics, and the effectiveness of afterschool or community-based programs compared to school-based programs are needed.

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    • Authors

    Shetgiri R, Kataoka S, Lin H, Flores G

    Institution

    Division of General Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA. rashmi.shetgiri@utsouthwestern.edu

    Source

    Journal of the National Medical Association 103:9-10 pg 932-40

    MeSH

    Adolescent
    Culture
    Female
    Hispanic Americans
    Humans
    Male
    Risk-Taking
    Schools
    Students
    Substance-Related Disorders
    Violence

    Pub Type(s)

    Journal Article
    Randomized Controlled Trial
    Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

    Language

    eng

    PubMed ID

    22364063