%0 Journal Article %J Prev Sci %D 2014 %T Engagement matters: lessons from assessing classroom implementation of steps to respect: a bullying prevention program over a one-year period. %A Low, Sabina %A Van Ryzin, Mark J %A Brown, Eric C %A Smith, Brian H %A Haggerty, Kevin P %K Adolescent %K Adolescent Behavior %K Altruism %K Bullying %K Curriculum %K Diffusion of Innovation %K Faculty %K Female %K Humans %K Male %K Outcome Assessment (Health Care) %K Primary Prevention %K Program Evaluation %K Schools %K Students %K United States %K Violence %X

Steps to Respect: A Bullying Prevention Program (STR) relies on a social-ecological model of prevention to increase school staff awareness and responsiveness, foster socially responsible beliefs among students, and teach social-emotional skills to students to reduce bullying behavior. As part of a school-randomized controlled trial of STR, we examined predictors and outcomes associated with classroom curriculum implementation in intervention schools. Data on classroom implementation (adherence and engagement) were collected from a sample of teachers using a weekly on-line Teacher Implementation Checklist system. Pre-post data related to school bullying-related outcomes were collected from 1,424 students and archival school demographic data were obtained from the National Center for Education Statistics. Results of multilevel analyses indicated that higher levels of program engagement were influenced by school-level percentage of students receiving free/reduced lunch, as well as classroom-level climate indicators. Results also suggest that higher levels of program engagement were related to lower levels of school bullying problems, enhanced school climate and attitudes less supportive of bullying. Predictors and outcomes related to program fidelity (i.e., adherence) were largely nonsignificant. Results suggest that student engagement is a key element of program impact, though implementation is influenced by both school-level demographics and classroom contexts.

%B Prev Sci %V 15 %P 165-76 %8 2014 Apr %G eng %N 2 %R 10.1007/s11121-012-0359-1 %0 Journal Article %J Prev Sci %D 2014 %T Prevention system mediation of Communities That Care effects on youth outcomes %A Brown, Eric C %A Hawkins, J D %A Rhew, Isaac C %A Shapiro, Valerie B %A Abbott, Robert D %A Oesterle, Sabrina %A Arthur, Michael W %A Briney, John S %A Catalano, Richard F %K Adolescent %K Adolescent Behavior %K Child %K Female %K Humans %K Juvenile Delinquency %K Longitudinal Studies %K Male %K Negotiating %K Residence Characteristics %K Social Welfare %K Social Work %K Substance-Related Disorders %K United States %X

This study examined whether the significant intervention effects of the Communities That Care (CTC) prevention system on youth problem behaviors observed in a panel of eighth-grade students (Hawkins et al. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine 163:789-798 2009) were mediated by community-level prevention system constructs posited in the CTC theory of change. Potential prevention system constructs included the community's degree of (a) adoption of a science-based approach to prevention, (b) collaboration on prevention activities, (c) support for prevention, and (d) norms against adolescent drug use as reported by key community leaders in 24 communities. Higher levels of community adoption of a science-based approach to prevention and support for prevention in 2004 predicted significantly lower levels of youth problem behaviors in 2007, and higher levels of community norms against adolescent drug use predicted lower levels of youth drug use in 2007. Effects of the CTC intervention on youth problem behaviors by the end of eighth grade were mediated fully by community adoption of a science-based approach to prevention. No other significant mediated effects were found. Results support CTC's theory of change that encourages communities to adopt a science-based approach to prevention as a primary mechanism for improving youth outcomes.

%B Prev Sci %V 15 %P 623-32 %8 2014 Oct %G eng %N 5 %R 10.1007/s11121-013-0413-7 %0 Journal Article %J JAMA Pediatr %D 2014 %T Youth problem behaviors 8 years after implementing the Communities That Care prevention system: A community-randomized trial. %A Hawkins, J D %A Oesterle, Sabrina %A Brown, Eric C %A Abbott, Robert D %A Catalano, Richard F %K Adolescent %K Adolescent Behavior %K Adolescent Health Services %K Alcohol Drinking %K Child %K Community Health Services %K Female %K Humans %K Juvenile Delinquency %K Male %K Prevalence %K Program Evaluation %K Risk Factors %K Risk Reduction Behavior %K Smoking %K Substance-Related Disorders %K United States %K Violence %X

IMPORTANCE: Community-based efforts to prevent adolescent problem behaviors are essential to promote public health and achieve collective impact community wide. OBJECTIVE To test whether the Communities That Care (CTC) prevention system reduced levels of risk and adolescent problem behaviors community wide 8 years after implementation of CTC.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: A community-randomized trial was performed in 24 small towns in 7 states, matched within state, assigned randomly to a control or intervention group in 2003. All fifth-grade students attending public schools in study communities in 2003-2004 who received consent from their parents to participate (76.4% of the eligible population) were included. A panel of 4407 fifth graders was surveyed through 12th grade, with 92.5% of the sample participating at the last follow-up.

INTERVENTIONS: A coalition of community stakeholders received training and technical assistance to install CTC, used epidemiologic data to identify elevated risk factors and depressed protective factors for adolescent problem behaviors in the community, and implemented tested and effective programs for youths aged 10 to 14 years as well as their families and schools to address their community's elevated risks. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Levels of targeted risk; sustained abstinence, and cumulative incidence by grade 12; and current prevalence of tobacco, alcohol, and other drug use, delinquency, and violence in 12th grade.

RESULTS: By spring of 12th grade, students in CTC communities were more likely than students in control communities to have abstained from any drug use (adjusted risk ratio [ARR] = 1.32; 95% CI, 1.06-1.63), drinking alcohol (ARR = 1.31; 95% CI, 1.09-1.58), smoking cigarettes (ARR = 1.13; 95% CI, 1.01-1.27), and engaging in delinquency (ARR = 1.18; 95% CI, 1.03-1.36). They were also less likely to ever have committed a violent act (ARR = 0.86; 95% CI, 0.76-0.98). There were no significant differences by intervention group in targeted risks, the prevalence of past-month or past-year substance use, or past-year delinquency or violence.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Using the CTC system continued to prevent the initiation of adolescent problem behaviors through 12th grade, 8 years after implementation of CTC and 3 years after study-provided resources ended, but did not produce reductions in current levels of risk or current prevalence of problem behavior in 12th grade. TRIAL REGISTRATION clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT01088542.

%B JAMA Pediatr %V 168 %P 122-9 %8 2014 Feb %G eng %N 2 %R 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2013.4009 %0 Journal Article %J J Adolesc Health %D 2013 %T Child physical and sexual abuse and cigarette smoking in adolescence and adulthood. %A Kristman-Valente, Allison N %A Brown, Eric C %A Herrenkohl, Todd I %K Adolescent %K Adolescent Behavior %K Adult %K Child %K Child Abuse %K Child Abuse, Sexual %K Child, Preschool %K Female %K Humans %K Infant %K Male %K Prevalence %K Risk Factors %K Smoking %K Substance-Related Disorders %K Surveys and Questionnaires %K United States %X

PURPOSE: Analyses used data from an extended longitudinal study to examine the relationship between childhood physical and sexual abuse (CPA and CSA, respectively) and adolescent and adult smoking behavior. Two questions guided the study: (1) Is there an association between childhood abuse and adolescent and adult smoking behavior? (2) Does the relationship between childhood abuse and later cigarette smoking differ for males and females?

METHODS: A censored-inflated path model was used to assess the impact of child abuse on adolescent and adult lifetime smoking prevalence and smoking frequency. Gender differences in significant model paths were assessed using a multiple-group approach.

RESULTS: Results show no significant relation between CPA or CSA and risk of having ever smoked cigarettes in adolescence or adulthood. However, for males, both CPA and CSA had direct effects on adolescent smoking frequency. For females, only CSA predicted increased smoking frequency in adolescence. Adolescent smoking frequency predicted adult smoking frequency more strongly for females compared with males.

CONCLUSIONS: CPA and CSA are risk factors for higher frequency of smoking in adolescence. Higher frequency of cigarette smoking in adolescence increases the risk of higher smoking frequency in adulthood. Results underscore the need for both primary and secondary prevention and intervention efforts to reduce the likelihood of childhood abuse and to lessen risk for cigarette smoking among those who have been abused.

%B J Adolesc Health %V 53 %P 533-8 %8 2013 Oct %G eng %N 4 %R 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2013.06.003 %0 Journal Article %J J Adolesc Health %D 2013 %T The impact of a middle school program to reduce aggression, victimization, and sexual violence. %A Espelage, Dorothy L %A Low, Sabina %A Polanin, Joshua R %A Brown, Eric C %K Adolescent %K Aggression %K Anger %K Bullying %K Child %K Crime Victims %K Female %K Humans %K Internal-External Control %K Longitudinal Studies %K Male %K Midwestern United States %K Peer Group %K Problem Solving %K Program Evaluation %K School Health Services %K Sex Offenses %K Substance-Related Disorders %X

PURPOSE: To evaluate the impact of the Second Step: Student Success Through Prevention (SS-SSTP) Middle School Program on reducing youth violence including peer aggression, peer victimization, homophobic name calling, and sexual violence perpetration and victimization among middle school sixth-grade students.

METHODS: The study design was a nested cohort (sixth graders) longitudinal study. We randomly assigned 18 matched pairs of 36 middle schools to the SS-SSTP or control condition. Teachers implemented 15 weekly lessons of the sixth-grade curriculum that focused on social emotional learning skills, including empathy, communication, bully prevention, and problem-solving skills. All sixth graders (n = 3,616) in intervention and control conditions completed self-report measures assessing verbal/relational bullying, physical aggression, homophobic name calling, and sexual violence victimization and perpetration before and after the implementation of the sixth-grade curriculum.

RESULTS: Multilevel analyses revealed significant intervention effects with regard to physical aggression. The adjusted odds ratio indicated that the intervention effect was substantial; individuals in intervention schools were 42% less likely to self-report physical aggression than students in control schools. We found no significant intervention effects for verbal/relational bully perpetration, peer victimization, homophobic teasing, and sexual violence.

CONCLUSIONS: Within a 1-year period, we noted significant reductions in self-reported physical aggression in the intervention schools. Results suggest that SS-SSTP holds promise as an efficacious prevention program to reduce physical aggression in adolescent youth.

%B J Adolesc Health %V 53 %P 180-6 %8 2013 Aug %G eng %N 2 %R 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2013.02.021 %0 Journal Article %J Am J Public Health %D 2013 %T Sustained effects of the Communities That Care system on prevention service system transformation. %A Rhew, Isaac C %A Brown, Eric C %A Hawkins, J D %A Briney, John S %K Adolescent %K Humans %K Juvenile Delinquency %K Residence Characteristics %K Social Welfare %K Social Work %K Substance-Related Disorders %K United States %X

OBJECTIVES: We examined whether the Communities That Care (CTC) system sustained effects 1.5 years after study funding ended on prevention system constructs expected to be important for community-level reductions in drug use and antisocial behaviors among youths.

METHODS: Data were from a community trial of 24 towns in the United States randomized to either the CTC intervention or control conditions. Participants were 928 community key leaders interviewed at 1 to 4 waves from 2001 to 2009. Intervention activities, including training and technical assistance, were conducted between 2003 and 2008 in the CTC communities.

RESULTS: Leaders from CTC communities reported higher levels of adoption of a science-based approach to prevention and a higher percentage of funding desired for prevention activities in 2009 than did leaders in control communities. CTC communities showed a higher increase over time in community norms against adolescent drug use as well as adoption of a science-based approach compared with control communities.

CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicated that CTC implementation produced enduring transformation of important prevention system constructs in intervention communities, which might, in turn, produce long-term reductions in youth problem behaviors.

%B Am J Public Health %V 103 %P 529-35 %8 2013 Mar %G eng %N 3 %R 10.2105/AJPH.2011.300567 %0 Journal Article %J J Adolesc Health %D 2013 %T Tests of the mitigating effects of caring and supportive relationships in the study of abusive disciplining over two generations. %A Herrenkohl, Todd I %A Klika, J B %A Brown, Eric C %A Herrenkohl, Roy C %A Leeb, Rebecca T %K Adolescent %K Adult %K Adult Survivors of Child Abuse %K Child %K Child Abuse %K Child, Preschool %K Empathy %K Family Relations %K Female %K Humans %K Infant %K Intergenerational Relations %K Longitudinal Studies %K Male %K Regression Analysis %K Sex Factors %K Sexual Partners %K Social Class %K Social Support %X

PURPOSE: To examine evidence of the continuity in abusive discipline across two generations (G1 and G2) and the role of safe, stable, and nurturing relationships (SSNRs) as protective factors.

METHODS: Data are from the Lehigh Longitudinal Study, a prospective investigation of the causes and consequences child maltreatment that began in the 1970s with a sample of 457 children and their parents. Data were most recently collected in 2008-2010 from 80% of the original child sample (N = 357) when they were adults age 36 years on average. Of those assessed as adults, 268 participants (G2s) were parenting children and thus comprise the analysis sample. Analyses examined the association between harsh physical discipline practices by G1 parents and G2's reports of similarly severe discipline practices used in parenting their own children. Analyses also investigated the direct and interactive (protective) effects of SSNR variables that pertain to the care, warmth, and support children received from their mothers, fathers, and siblings over their lifetimes. A measure of an adult partner's warmth and support was also included. A case-level examination of G2 harsh discipliners was included to investigate other forms of past and more recent forms of abuse exposure.

RESULTS: Results show a significant predictive association between physical discipline by G1 and G2 parents (β = .30; p < .05; odds ratio, 1.14; confidence interval, 1.04-1.26), after accounting for childhood socioeconomic status and gender. Whereas being harshly disciplined as a child was inversely related to reports of having had a caring relationship with one's mother (r = -.25; p < .01), only care and support from one's father predicted a lower risk of harsh physical discipline by G2s (β = -.24; p < .05; odds ratio, .74; confidence interval, .59-.92). None of the SSNR variables moderated the effect of G1 discipline on G2 discipline. A case-level examination of the abusive histories of G2 harsh discipliners found they had in some instances been exposed to physical and emotional abuse by multiple caregivers and by adult partners.

CONCLUSIONS: There is continuity in physical disciplining over two generations. SSNRs measured in this study did not mediate or moderate the effect of G1 on G2 harsh physical discipline, although care and support from fathers was inversely related to the likelihood of G2 harsh physical discipline. This relationship is independent of abuse in childhood. Research is needed to identify factors that interrupt the intergenerational continuity of harsh physical (abusive) disciplining so that promising interventions can be developed and implemented.

%B J Adolesc Health %V 53 %P S18-24 %8 2013 Oct %G eng %N 4 Suppl %R 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2013.04.009 %0 Journal Article %J J Soc Social Work Res %D 2013 %T Variation in the effect of Communities That Care on community adoption of a scientific approach to prevention %A Shapiro, Valerie B %A Hawkins, J D %A Oesterle, Sabrina %A Monahan, Kathryn C %A Brown, Eric C %A Arthur, Michael W %X

Tested and effective approaches are available to prevent mental, emotional, and behavioral problems in youth, but such approaches are underused. Communities That Care (CTC) is a coalition-based strategy that aims to increase the use of tested and effective programs by combining the use of scientific evidence and stakeholder consensus to support the community adoption of a scientific approach to preventing mental, emotional, and behavioral problems in youth. A community-randomized trial of CTC was conducted with a sample of 24 communities matched in pairs and assigned randomly to a control or an intervention condition. The findings demonstrate that CTC significantly increases the community-wide adoption of a science-based approach to prevention. Using a meta-analysis technique, this study shows that despite uniformly high-fidelity implementation of CTC in intervention communities, the effect of CTC on the adoption of a scientific approach to prevention varies significantly across the 12 community pairs. Understanding the extent of variation in the effect of CTC on adopting a science-based approach to prevention lays a foundation for identifying aspects of coalition structure, functioning, or capacity that not only may help explain variation in adoption, but may in turn be targeted to strengthen the effect of CTC on the adoption of a science-based approach to prevention within communities.

%B J Soc Social Work Res %V 4 %8 2013 Aug 20 %G eng %N 3 %R 10.5243/jsswr.2013.10 %0 Journal Article %J J Drug Issues %D 2012 %T A cross-national comparison of risk and protective factors for adolescent drug use and delinquency in the United States and the Netherlands %A Oesterle, Sabrina %A Hawkins, J D %A Steketee, Majone %A Jonkman, Harrie %A Brown, Eric C %A Moll, Marit %A Haggerty, Kevin P %X

The present study compared associations between risk and protective factors and adolescent drug use and delinquency in the Netherlands and the United States. Data were collected from students between the ages of 12 and 17 using the same school-administered survey instrument in both countries. Levels of exposure to risk and protective factors were generally similar in both countries. The same risk and protective factors shown to be associated with U.S. adolescents' drug use and delinquency were related significantly to Dutch youth's drug use and delinquency. One important exception was that Dutch students perceived their parents' attitudes to be more favorable toward alcohol use; these attitudes also were more predictive of adolescents' regular drinking in the Netherlands compared to the United States. The findings indicate that the risk and protective factors measured in this study can be important targets for prevention of health-compromising behaviors among young people in the Netherlands and the United States.

%B J Drug Issues %V 42 %P 337-357 %8 2012 Oct %G eng %N 4 %R 10.1177/0022042612461769 %0 Journal Article %J J Prim Prev %D 2012 %T Predictive validity of established cut points for risk and protective factor scales from the Communities That Care youth survey %A Briney, John S %A Brown, Eric C %A Hawkins, J D %A Arthur, Michael W %K Adolescent %K Adolescent Behavior %K Child %K Factor Analysis, Statistical %K Forecasting %K Health Care Coalitions %K Humans %K Juvenile Delinquency %K Risk Assessment %K Risk Factors %K Risk Reduction Behavior %K Substance-Related Disorders %K Surveys and Questionnaires %X

Community coalitions are a popular strategy to coordinate activities and resources to prevent adolescent substance use and delinquent behavior. Despite early evidence of their lack of effectiveness, a new generation of community coalitions has shown positive results in preventing youth substance use and delinquency. This success can be attributed to coalition decision making focused on reducing local risk factors and increasing local protective factors through the use of evidence-based prevention programs. A previous study using cross-sectional data established cut point values for scales measuring risk and protective factors on the Communities That Care Youth Survey (CTCYS) to identify high levels of risk and low levels of protection in communities on each scale. The current study extended this previous research by using longitudinal data to assess the validity of risk and protective factor cut point values in predicting substance use and delinquent behavior 1 year after risk and protection were measured. The findings demonstrate the predictive validity of cut points for risk and protective factor scales measured by the CTCYS and suggest their utility in guiding prevention efforts.

%B J Prim Prev %V 33 %P 249-58 %8 2012 Dec %G eng %N 5-6 %R 10.1007/s10935-012-0280-1 %0 Journal Article %J Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med %D 2012 %T Sustained decreases in risk exposure and youth problem behaviors after installation of the Communities That Care prevention system in a randomized trial. %A Hawkins, J D %A Oesterle, Sabrina %A Brown, Eric C %A Monahan, Kathryn C %A Abbott, Robert D %A Arthur, Michael W %A Catalano, Richard F %K Adolescent %K Adolescent Behavior %K Adolescent Health Services %K Child %K Community Health Services %K Humans %K Incidence %K Juvenile Delinquency %K Multivariate Analysis %K Outcome Assessment (Health Care) %K Prevalence %K Risk Reduction Behavior %K Smoking %K Substance-Related Disorders %K United States %K Violence %X

OBJECTIVE: To test whether the Communities That Care (CTC) prevention system reduced levels of risk and adolescent problem behaviors community-wide 6 years after installation of CTC and 1 year after study-provided resources ended.

DESIGN: A community randomized trial.

SETTING: Twenty-four small towns in 7 states, matched within state, randomly assigned to control or intervention condition in 2003.

PARTICIPANTS: A panel of 4407 fifth-grade students was surveyed annually through 10th grade from 2004 to 2009.

INTERVENTION: A coalition of community stakeholders received training and technical assistance to install CTC, used epidemiologic data to identify elevated risk factors and depressed protective factors in the community, and implemented programs to address their community's elevated risks from a menu of tested and effective programs for youths aged 10 to 14 years, their families, and schools.

OUTCOME MEASURES: Levels of risk and incidence and prevalence of tobacco, alcohol, and other drug use; delinquency; and violent behavior by grade 10.

RESULTS: Mean levels of targeted risks increased less rapidly between grades 5 and 10 in CTC than in control communities and were significantly lower in CTC than control communities in grade 10. The incidence of delinquent behavior, alcohol use, and cigarette use and the prevalence of current cigarette use and past-year delinquent and violent behavior were significantly lower in CTC than in control communities in grade 10.

CONCLUSIONS: Using the CTC system can produce enduring reductions in community-wide levels of risk factors and problem behaviors among adolescents beyond the years of supported implementation, potentially contributing to long-term public health benefits.

TRIAL REGISTRATION: clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT01088542.

%B Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med %V 166 %P 141-8 %8 2012 Feb %G eng %N 2 %R 10.1001/archpediatrics.2011.183 %0 Journal Article %J J Community Psychol %D 2011 %T Prevention service system transformation using Communities That Care %A Brown, Eric C %A Hawkins, J D %A Arthur, Michael W %A Briney, John S %A Fagan, Abigail A %X

This study examines prevention system transformation as part of a community-randomized controlled trial of Communities That Care (CTC). Using data from surveys of community leaders, we examine differences between CTC and control communities 4.5 years after CTC implementation. Significantly higher levels of adopting a science-based approach to prevention observed in CTC communities compared to controls in 2004 were maintained in 2007. Leaders in CTC communities expressed a willingness to contribute significantly more funds to prevention than did leaders in control communities in 2007. Significant differences in levels of community collaboration observed in 2004 were not maintained in 2007. Leaders in CTC communities with high poverty rates and large minority student populations reported higher levels of community norms against drug use and greater use of the social development strategy, respectively, than did leaders in control communities with similar characteristics.

%B J Community Psychol %V 39 %P 183-201 %8 2011 Mar 1 %G eng %N 2 %R 10.1002/jcop.20426 %0 Journal Article %J J Community Psychol %D 2010 %T Implementation of the Communities That Care prevention system by coalitions in the Community Youth Development Study %A Arthur, Michael W %A Hawkins, J D %A Brown, Eric C %A Briney, John S %A Oesterle, Sabrina %A Abbott, Robert D %X

While advances in prevention science over the past 2 decades have produced a growing list of tested and effective programs and policies for preventing adolescent delinquency and drug use, widespread dissemination and high-quality implementation of effective programs and policies in communities has not been achieved. The Community Youth Development Study (CYDS) is a randomized, community-level trial of the Communities That Care (CTC) system for promoting science-based prevention in communities. This paper compares 12 community prevention coalitions implementing the CTC system in 12 intervention communities as part of the CYDS to prevention coalitions located in the 12 control communities. As hypothesized, the CYDS coalitions implemented significantly more of the CTC core intervention elements, and also implemented significantly greater numbers of tested, effective prevention programs than the prevention coalitions in the control communities. Implications of the findings for efforts to achieve widespread dissemination of effective prevention programs, policies, and practices are discussed.

%B J Community Psychol %V 38 %P 245-258 %8 2010 Mar %G eng %N 2 %R 10.1002/jcop.20362