NCJ Number
130394
Date Published
1984
Length
28 pages
Annotation
This is a progress report for the first year's implementation of Project ALERT (Adolescent Learning Experiences in Resistance Training), a school-based smoking and drug-prevention curriculum that teaches seventh graders how to identify and resist pressures to use drugs, with emphasis on how to say "no" gracefully.
Abstract
During ALERT's first year, the Rand Corporation designed the basic experiment, the 8-session curriculum, and the procedures for collecting evaluation data. Five short films were produced for integration into the curriculum. Both the prevention program and the data-collection methods are currently being pilot tested in two Los Angeles County schools. Twenty-five to 30 schools from 8 school districts in California and Oregon are scheduled to participate in the project. Participating districts encompass urban, suburban, and rural communities and represent a range of socioeconomic levels and several ethnic groups. All seventh graders in the treatment schools will participate in the ALERT curriculum during the fall or spring of the 1984-85 school year. The same seventh graders will receive several booster sessions when they reach the eighth grade. During the next 2 years, Rand will monitor student drug use and related behavior in participating schools. Evaluation data will include survey self-reports, physiological measures such as saliva tests, and process measures to determine how well the program has been implemented. This report includes a description of the curriculum. 10 charts