Assessing the Effect of External Resources on School-Based Substance Abuse Prevention Programs

This article assesses the effect of allocating external resources to school-based substance abuse prevention programs. It is based on a study conducted in a large and ethnically diverse midwestern urban school district. The 55 participating schools implemented a variety of classroom-based prevention programs and complementary school-based prevention activities. A selected group received additional support from an external innovator. The schools receiving external resources were treated as the experimental group, and the remaining schools were treated as the comparison group. The assumption was that students attending schools receiving additional resources would have demonstrated more positive outcomes than students attending the comparison schools. All students completed a self-reported survey. Mixed overall results were found between experimental and comparison groups. The findings are interpreted from an ecological systems approach and in relationship to developmental and environmental factors. Theoretical and programmatic implications are discussed, and recommendations for school social workers and other helping professionals working at schools are examined.