Prevention Education Programs: Can They Be Effective?

A number of researchers have pointed out the difficulty of demonstrating the short-term effectiveness of prevention education programs. Benard, one of the most respected prevention evaluation specialists in the nation, argues that "one of the most serious impediments of putting evaluation results to use is the dismaying tendency to show that the program has little effect."1 Yet Benard is unwilling to give up on prevention efforts. For her, the effectiveness of prevention programs lies in empowerment:

It's imperative that we see that prevention of individual and social problems like school failure, substance abuse, delinquency, teen pregnancy, and child abuse, can only result through the empowerment of people.2

In January 1989, Kansas 4-H youth programs received a $14,000 grant from the Governor's Discretionary Fund to conduct a pilot program using the 4-H CARES curriculum with high-risk minority youth in Kansas City and Wichita urban areas. Grant monies were used to hire four indigenous paraprofessionals who were trained to deliver the 10 hours of experiential learning in a wide variety of youth settings: schools, day camps, after- school programs, churches, and community centers. Over 400 youth participated in the project. Pre- and post-test evaluations were administered to all participants, but only 308 matched sets were obtained (77%) for analysis.

A reliable evaluation instrument was developed with the help of the staff at the Southwest Regional Center for Drug Free Schools and Communities in Norman, Oklahoma. The evaluation sought to measure changes in five dimensions: (1) self-esteem, (2) communication skills, (3) interpersonal and intrapersonal skills, (4) decision-making skills, and (5) future intentions to use illicit drugs. Pre- and post-test comparisons were made using chi-square analysis, and, in the case of 2 x 2 contingency tables, the Yates correction was employed.

Of the participants, 52% were females and the largest group came from the 5th grade (32%), while those in the 4th grade made up the next largest group (30%).

Evaluation results indicated that knowledge, attitudes, and intentions were easier to change than self-esteem or interpersonal skills. In general, self-esteem improved only slightly after participation in the 4-H CARES curriculum. However, in some cases, changes were easily documented. In response to the statement "I am a good person," only 52% of the respondents on the pre-test said they were like that "most times." By the post-test, however, 66% youth said they were like that "most times" (P<.01).

4-H CARES teaches a model of decision making that all children can use called SOCS. The responses of children who participated in the 4-H CARES program from pre-test to post-test clearly demonstrated that they could learn and remember this model of making decisions (P<.0001).

Many educators and parents are concerned about where young people get their information about drugs and alcohol. Our 4-H CARES study supported other national studies that show elementary -aged children want and seek their information from parents. Of those we surveyed, 63% said they'd most likely turn to a parent or guardian first for such information. Still, 14% said they'd turn first to a peer.

Our study shows that even short-term participation in a model prevention education program like 4-H CARES can positively affect young people's self-concept, knowledge, skills, and attitudes. Obviously, a key element is providing a program of sufficient length to have impact. Research indicates that 10 hours is the minimum.

While many evaluation studies fail to show positive outcomes for individual programs, we'd agree with Benard that such results shouldn't deter us from continuing programs that empower the participants to direct their own future. 4-H CARES demonstrates that Extension has the capacity to develop and implement such programs. A continued emphasis on good research will help establish our credibility in prevention education.

1. Bonnie Benard, "Peer Programs: The Lodestone to Prevention," Prevention Forum, VIII (January 1988), 6.

2. Ibid.