Biomedical subjects

James H Derzon

Publications and source records attributed to James H Derzon.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Substance abuse prevention program content: systematizing the classification of what programs target for change.

We conducted an analysis of programs listed on the National Registry of Effective Programs and Practices as of 2003. This analysis focused on programs that addressed substance abuse prevention from among those on the effective or model program lists and that had manuals. A total of 48 programs met these inclusion criteria. We coded program manuals for content that was covered based on how much time was devoted to changing targeted mediating variables. The value of this approach is that program content can be judged using an impartial standard that can be applied to a wide range of intervention approaches. On average, programs addressed eight of 23 possible content areas. Our analyses suggested there were seven distinguishable approaches that have been used in substance abuse prevention programs. These include (i) changing access within the environment, (ii) promoting the development of personal and social skills, (iii) promoting positive affiliation, (iv) addressing social influences, (v) providing social support and helping participants develop goals and alternatives, (vi) developing positive schools and (vii) enhancing motivation to avoid substance use. We propose that the field use such analyses as the basis of future theory development.

Attitude to Health↗

PubMed2005

Estimating intervention effectiveness: synthetic projection of field evaluation results.

In a 46-site, 5-year high-risk youth substance abuse prevention evaluation, effect sizes were adjusted using a meta-analytic regression technique to project potential effectiveness under more optimal research and implementation conditions. Adjusting effect size estimates to control for the impact of comparison group prevention exposure, service intensity, and coherent program implementation raised the mean effectiveness estimate from near zero (.02, SD = .21) to .24 (SD = .18). This finding suggests that adolescent prevention programs can have significant positive effects under optimal, yet obtainable conditions. EDITORS' STRATEGIC IMPLICATIONS: The authors present a meta-analytic technique that promises to be an important tool for understanding what works in multi-site community-based prevention settings. Researchers will find this to be a creative approach to model the "noise'' in implementation that may often overshadow the potential impact of prevention programs.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

The effects of school-based intervention programs on aggressive behavior: a meta-analysis.

Research on the effectiveness of school-based programs for preventing or reducing aggressive behavior was synthesized with a meta-analysis. Changes in aggressive behavior between pretest and posttest were analyzed for developmental patterns and characteristics associated with differential effects. Control groups showed little change in aggressive behavior, but there were significant reductions among intervention groups. Most studies were conducted on demonstration programs; the few studies of routine practice programs showed much smaller effects. Among demonstration programs, positive outcomes were associated with a variety of study, subject, and intervention characteristics. Most notably, higher risk youth showed greater reductions in aggressive behavior, poorly implemented programs produced smaller effects, and different types of programs were generally similar in their effectiveness, other things equal.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Behavioral traits and marijuana use and abuse: a meta-analysis of longitudinal studies.

The present study uses data from a meta-analytic archive of prospective longitudinal studies (N= 3206) to examine the association between negative affect, emotionality, and unconventionality on the use, misuse, and abuse of marijuana. For each of the three constructs, variables were divided into two categories--a "trait," which refers to a personality characteristic or attitudes and beliefs, and a "behavior," which refers to something that a subject does. A total of 63 reports from 40 studies provided effect sizes on the bivariate relationship of one or more of these six categories with current or later marijuana use, misuse, or abuse. Pooling partially redundant estimates for independence reduced the dataset from 358 estimates to 93 aggregated effect sizes for the cross-sectional data included in the archive, and from 478 estimates to 73 aggregated effect sizes for the longitudinal data. The effect sizes obtained from the longitudinal data were modest, none above 0.20. Indeed, only those for unconventionality-trait and emotionality-trait and marijuana use were of sufficient magnitude and reliably to warrant attention. Of the behavioral constructs assessed using the cross-sectional data, only unconventionality was associated with marijuana use and misuse. The emotionality-behavior construct and both unconventionality constructs were most strongly associated with marijuana abuse. The conceptual and methodological limitations of the study along with the implications of its findings for prevention are briefly discussed.

Behavior, Addictive↗