NCJ Number
170874
Journal
Drugs & Society Volume: 12 Issue: 1/2 Dated: (1998) Pages: 87-103
Date Published
1998
Length
17 pages
Annotation
This study sought to organize and evaluate a coalition of neighborhood agencies to provide a comprehensive array of school and community-based prevention services to reduce substance use and gang involvement among inner-city Hispanic youth in the Chicago area.
Abstract
An institutional cycles quasiexperimental design was used to evaluate the project's effectiveness with 651 pretest cohort students and 667 posttest cohort students attending grades 5 to 8 in two Chicago elementary schools. Cohorts were 75 to 79 percent Hispanic and 16 to 18 percent black. The project's consortium of service providers greatly increased the degree of cooperation and collaboration. Interim results supporting project goals showed gang involvement was significantly lower among the posttest cohort, compared to the pretest cohort. Statistical trends were found for decreased substance use and academic enhancement outcomes. A secondary analysis of predictors of youth at high versus lower risk for substance abuse problems revealed gang involvement was the strongest predictor of substance abuse risk, followed by grade in school, perceived closeness to gangs, perceived closeness to family, lower grades, and gender. Further evaluation is recommended to assess the effectiveness of additional posttest cohorts and to establish the relationship between type and amount of services received and attained outcomes. 13 references, 1 table, and 3 figures