Single vs. Multiple Drug Prevention: Is More Always Better?: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Objective. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of a single drug, i.e., alcohol, against a multiple drug preventive intervention. Methods. A controlled trial was conducted with 448 8th grade students (mean age = 13 years old) from an inner-city middle school (n = 216) and a rural junior high school (n = 232) in 2000–2001. Students were randomized within school, and 3-month post-intervention follow-up data were collected. Results. Two risk/protective factors were found to differ significantly in favor of youth receiving the single drug alcohol intervention (p's = 0.03), while the frequency of alcohol use and two additional risk/protective factors approached significance (p's < 0.10). Conclusion. These findings support the potential efficacy of a brief, single drug preventive intervention over a brief, multi-drug intervention in producing short-term alcohol outcomes for adolescents, and indicate differential effects of interventions for subgroups of substance using youth.

Keywords:

• single drug prevention
• multiple drug prevention
• drug program foci
• differential program effects
• adolescents

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Chudley E. (Chad) Werch

Chudley E. (Chad) Werch, Ph.D., is a Professor and Director of the Addictive and Health Behaviors Research Institute at the Department of Health Education and Behavior, University of Florida. He has dedicated his career to improving the health of children, adolescents and young adults, particularly in the areas of alcohol, tobacco and other drug misuse and prevention. He has conducted numerous studies of the efficacy of brief, theory-based interventions for the prevention and mitigation of substance misuse among youth.

Michele M. Moore

Michele Johnson Moore, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Public Health in the College of Health at the University of North Florida, and a Collaborating Research Scientist at the Addictive and Health Behaviors Research Institute at the University of Florida. She has worked on a number of locally and nationally funded intervention research projects addressing alcohol and other drug use among adolescents and college students.

Carlo C. DiClemente

Carlo C. DiClemente, Ph.D., is internationally recognized as co-creator (with James Prochaska, Ph.D.) of the Transtheoretical Model of Change, a model that identifies stages of change and other factors that predict treatment outcomes and allows many more people to enter treatment programs at earlier stages of readiness. Dr. DiClemente is the author of numerous scientific articles and book chapters on motivation and behavior change and the application of this model to a variety of problem behaviors. His current research interests include smoking initiation and cessation, alcoholism and substance abuse treatment, dual diagnosis, early intervention with problem drinkers, pregnancy smoking cessation, and initiation of health protection and health threatening behaviors.

Deborah M. Owen

Deborah M. Owen, M.S.H., was a Research Associate working with Dr. Werch when he was director of the Center for Drug Prevention Research in the College of Health at the University of North Florida. Her professional interests are in health promotion and health education, substance misuse, and research.

Joan M. Carlson

Joan M. Carlson, M.S.W., was a Research Associate working with Dr. Werch when he was director of the Center for Drug Prevention Research in the College of Health at the University of North Florida. Her research has focused on alcohol prevention for adolescents and young adults, and spirituality and health.

Edessa Jobli

Edessa Jobli, M.P.H., is a Senior Research Associate at the Addictive and Health Behaviors Research Institute at the Department of Health Education and Behavior, University of Florida. During the past ten years she has worked on a number of nationally funded clinical and behavioral research projects. Her professional interests are in health promotion, health education and epidemiology.