NCJ Number
207762
Journal
Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy Volume: 11 Issue: 5 Dated: October 2004 Pages: 391-405
Date Published
October 2004
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This paper reports on an evaluation of a substance misuse communications campaign that involved young people in locally focused media products.
Abstract
Current public policy has been emphasizing the need to involve young people in substance misuse campaigns. Research has yet to explore the level and nature of young people’s involvement in these types of initiatives. The current article presents a process and impact evaluation of a substance misuse communications initiative entitled, “Honesty is the Best Policy,” in which young people were involved in the development phase. The process evaluation assessed the scale, character, and context of youth involvement, while the impact evaluation assessed the impact of the campaign on young people from the target age group. Interviews were conducted with the young campaign participants, as well as adult practitioners who worked with the young participants. The evaluation findings indicated a range of positive outcomes for involving youth in community campaigns, including increasing civic involvement for young participants and positive outcomes for the campaign as a result of youth participation. Youth from the target audience highly rated campaigns that involved youth in the development and media phases. The involvement of young people in campaigns took numerous forms, all guided by adult project practitioners. The findings thus indicate clear rewards for youth involved in community campaigns and positive outcomes concerning audience perceptions of campaign credibility. Table, references