Issues in the Development and Process of Community-Based Alcohol and Drug Prevention: The Midwestern Prevention Project (MPP) (From Research, Action, and the Community: Experiences in the Prevention of Alcohol and Other Drug Problems, P 136-143, 1990, Norman Giesbrecht, Peter Conley, et al., eds. --

• NCJ Number: 128289
• Author(s): M A Pentz; P S Alexander; C C Cormack; J Light
• Date Published: 1990
• Length: 8 pages
• Sale Source: Superintendent of Documents, GPO; National Institute of Justice/; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Publication Type: Program Description (Demonstrative)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Paper presented at the Symposium on Experiences with Community Action Projects for the Prevention of Alcohol and Other Drug Problems, March 1989, Scarborough, Ontario, Canada

Annotation

The Midwestern Prevention Project (MPP) is an experimental trial for the prevention of drug use by adolescent youth, their parents, and community residents in communities that comprise the Kansas City and Indianapolis Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas.

Abstract

The overall objective of the trial is to evaluate the cumulative effects of five program components that represent counteractive strategies on community influences on youthful drug use. These components include school, parents and family, community organization, health policy change, and mass media programs. Over 32,500 youth are evaluated annually with a self-report survey and a biochemical measure of smoking. Surveys are also administered yearly to about 150 community leaders and 7,200 parents. Three models have been used to develop the MPP as a multicommunity drug prevention project: matched funding, program implementation, and community organization. An evaluation of MPP process issues indicates that large-scale, longitudinal drug prevention projects require researchers and community programmers to be flexible about research and measurement design, development, refinement, and analysis. Further directions for community action research in the area of drug prevention are suggested. 7 references