Skip to main content
Key Specialties
Cardiology Diabetology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics and Gerontology Gynecology and Obstetrics Hematology Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatrics Respiratory Medicine Rheumatology Surgery
Congress Coverage
2024 ACC Congress 2023 ESMO Congress 2023 EASD Congress 2023 ERS Congress 2023 ESC Congress
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

At a glance: The ONWARDS insulin icodec trials

A round-up of the ONWARDS phase 3 clinical trials evaluating the novel weekly insulin icodec in people with diabetes.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
Prevention Science
Published in: Prevention Science 1/2017

01-01-2017

A Meta-analysis of the Effectiveness of Interactive Middle School Cannabis Prevention Programs

Authors: Steven E. Lize, Aidyn L. Iachini, Weizhou Tang, Joshua Tucker, Kristen D. Seay, Stephanie Clone, Dana DeHart, Teri Browne

Published in: Prevention Science | Issue 1/2017

Login to get access

Abstract

This meta-analysis examines the effectiveness of interactive middle school-based drug prevention programs on adolescent cannabis use in North America, as well as program characteristics that could moderate these effects. Interactive programs, compared to more didactic, lecture style programs, involve participants in skill-building activities and focus on interaction among participants. A systematic literature search was conducted for English-language studies from January 1998 to March 2014. Studies included evaluations using random assignment or a quasi-experimental design of interactive school-based substance use prevention programs delivered to adolescents (aged 12–14) in North American middle schools (grades 6–8). Data were extracted using a coding protocol. The outcomes of interest were post-treatment cannabis use, intent to use, and refusal skills compared across intervention and control groups. Effect sizes (Cohen’s d) were calculated from continuous measures, and dichotomous measures were converted to the d index. A total of 30 studies yielding 23 independent samples were included. The random effects pooled effect size for cannabis use (k = 21) was small (\( \overline{d} \)= -0.07, p < 0.01) and favorable for the prevention programs. The pooled effect sizes for intention to use (k = 3) and refusal skills (k = 3) were not significant. Moderator analyses indicated significant differences in program effectiveness between instructor types, with teachers found to be most effective (\( \overline{d} \)= –0.08, p = 0.02). The findings provide further support for the use of interactive school-based programs to prevent cannabis use among middle school students in North America.
Appendix
Available only for authorised users
Literature
*Apsler, R., Formica, S., Fraster, B., & McMahan, R. (2006). Promoting positive adolescent development for at-risk students with a student assistance program. The Journal of Primary Prevention, 27, 533–554.
*Aseltine, R. J., Dupre, M., & Lamlein, P. (2000). Mentoring as a drug prevention strategy: An Evaluation of Across Ages. Adolescent and Family Health, 1, 11–20.
*Bacon, T. P., Hall, B. W., & Ferron, J. M. (2013). Technical Report: One Year Study of the Effects of the Too Good for Drugs Prevention on Middle School Students. Unpublished manuscript.
Borenstein, M., Hedges, L. V., Higgins, J. P. T., & Rothstein, H. R. (2005). Comprehensive meta-analysis. Englewood: Biostat.
*Botvin, G. J., Griffin, K. W., Diaz, T., & Ifill-Williams, M. (2001). Drug abuse prevention among minority adolescents: Posttest and one-year follow-up of a school-based preventive intervention. Prevention Science, 2, 1–13.
Card, N. A. (2012). Applied meta-analysis for social science research. New York: The Guildford Press.
Chen, C. Y., Storr, C. L., & Anthony, J. C. (2009). Early-onset drug use and risk for drug dependence problems. Addictive Behaviors, 34, 319–322.CrossRefPubMed
*Clark, H. K., Ringwalt, C. L., Hanley, S., & Shamblen, S. R. (2010). Project ALERT’s effects on adolescents’ prodrug beliefs: A replication and extension study. Health Education & Behavior, 37, 357–376.
Cox, R. G., Zhang, L., Johnson, W. D., & Bender, D. R. (2007). Academic performance and substance use: Findings from a state survey of public high school students. Journal of School Health, 77, 109–115.CrossRefPubMed
Cuijpers, P. (2002). Effective ingredients of school-based drug prevention programs: a systematic review. Addictive Behaviors, 27, 1009–1023.CrossRefPubMed
*D’Amico, E. J., & Edelen, M. O. (2007). Pilot test of Project CHOICE: A voluntary afterschool intervention for middle school youth. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 21, 592–598.
*DeWit, D. J., Steep, B., Silverman, G., Stevens-Lavigne, A., Ellis, K., Smythe, C., … & Wood, E. (2000). Evaluating an in-school drug prevention program for at-risk youth. Alberta Journal of Educational Research, 46, 117–133.
Duvall, S. (2005). The trim and fill method. In H. R. Rothstein, A. J. Sutton, & M. Borenstein (Eds.), Publication bias in meta-analysis: Prevention, assessment, and adjustments (pp. 127–144). Hoboken: Wiley.
*Eisen, M. (2001). Intermediate outcomes from a life skills education program with a media literacy component. In Crano, W. D. & Burgoon, M. (Eds.) Mass media and drug prevention: Classic and contemporary theories and research, (pp. 187–214). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
*Eisen, M., Zellman, G. L., & Murray, D. M. (2003). Evaluating the Lions–Quest “Skills for Adolescence” drug education program: Second-year behavior outcomes. Addictive Behaviors, 28, 883–897.
*Eisen, M., Zellman, G. L., Massett, H. A., & Murray, D. M. (2002). Evaluating the Lions-Quest “Skills for Adolescence” drug education program: First-year behavior outcomes. Addictive Behaviors, 27, 619–632.
*Ellickson, P. L., McCaffrey, D. F., Ghosh-Dastidar, B., & Longshore, D. L. (2003). New inroads in preventing adolescent drug use: Results from a large-scale trial of Project ALERT in middle schools. American Journal of Public Health, 93, 1830–1836.
Faggiano, F., Vigna-Taglianti, F. D., Versino, E., Zambon, A., Borraccino, A., & Lemma, P. (2008). School-based prevention for illicit drugs use: a systematic review. Preventative Medicine, 46, 385–396.CrossRef
Finn, K. V. (2012). Marijuana use at school and achievement-linked behaviors. High School Journal, 95, 3–13.CrossRef
*Fosco, G. M., Frank, J. L., Stormshak, E. A., & Dishion, T. J. (2013). Opening the “Black Box”: Family Check-Up intervention effects on self-regulation that prevents growth in problem behavior and substance use. Journal of School Psychology, 51, 455–468.
*Ghosh-Dastidar, B., Longshore, D. L., Ellickson, P. L., & McCaffrey, D. F. (2004). Modifying pro-drug risk factors in adolescents: Results from Project ALERT. Health Education & Behavior, 31, 318–334.
*Gottfredson, D. C., Cross, A., Wilson, D., Rorie, M., & Connell, N. (2010). An experimental evaluation of the All Stars prevention curriculum in a community after school setting. Prevention Science, 11, 142–154.
Gottfredson, D. C., & Wilson, D. B. (2003). Characteristics of effective school-based substance abuse prevention. Prevention Science, 4, 27–38.CrossRefPubMed
*Griffin, K. W., Botvin, G. J., Nichols, T. R., & Doyle, M. M. (2003). Effectiveness of a Universal drug abuse prevention approach for youth at high risk for substance use initiation. Preventive Medicine, 36, 1–7.
*Griffin Jr, J. P., Holliday, R. C., Frazier, E., & Braithwaite, R. L. (2009). The BRAVE (Building Resiliency and Vocational Excellence) Program: Evaluation findings for a career-oriented substance abuse and violence preventive intervention. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 20, 798–816.
Harvey, M., Sellman, J., Porter, R., & Frampton, C. (2007). The relationship between non-acute adolescent cannabis use and cognition. Drug and Alcohol Review, 26, 309–319.CrossRefPubMed
Hazen, E., Schlozman, S., & Beresin, E. (2008). Adolescent psychological development: a review. Pediatric in Review, 29, 161–8.CrossRef
*Hecht, M. L., Graham, J. W., & Elek, E. (2006). The drug resistance strategies intervention: Program effects on substance use. Health Communication, 20, 267–276.
*Hecht, M. L., Marsiglia, F. F., Elek, E., Wagstaff, D. A., Kulis, S., Dustman, P., & Miller-Day, M. (2003). Culturally grounded substance use prevention: An evaluation of the Keepin’ it REAL curriculum. Prevention Science, 4, 233–248.
Higgins, J. P. T., & Thompson, S. G. (2002). Quantifying heterogeneity in a meta-analysis. Statistics In Medicine, 21, 1539–1558.CrossRefPubMed
Holm, S. (1979). A simple sequentially rejective multiple test procedure. Scandinavian Journal of Statistics, 6, 65–70.
Johnston, L. D., O’Malley, P. M., Miech, R. A., Bachman, J. G., & Schulenberg, J. E. (2015). Monitoring the future national survey results on drug use: 1975-2014: Overview, key findings on adolescent drug use. Ann Arbor: Institute for Social Research, the University of Michigan.
Lemon, M., Pennucci, A., Hanley, S., & Aos, S. (2014). Preventing and treating youth marijuana use: an updated review of the evidence. (Doc. No. 14-10-3201). Olympia: Washington Institute for Public Policy.
Lipsey, M. W., & Wilson, D. B. (2001). Practical meta-analysis. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Littell, J. H., & Maynard, B. R. (2014). Systematic review methods: The science of research synthesis. Preconference Workshop presented at Society for Social Work Research Conference, San Antonio, TX. January 16, 2014.
*Longshore, D., Ellickson, P. L., McCaffrey, D. F., & Clair, P. A. S. (2007). School-based drug prevention among at-risk adolescents: Effects of ALERT plus. Health Education & Behavior, 34, 651–668.
Lopez-Quintero, C., Pérez de los Cobos, J., Hasin, D. S., Okuda, M., Wang, S., Grant, B. F., & Blanco, C. (2011). Probability and predictors of transition from first use to dependence on nicotine, alcohol, cannabis, and cocaine: Results of the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC). Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 115, 120–130.CrossRefPubMed
McKenzie, J., Ryan, R., & Di Tanna, G. L. (2014). Cluster randomised controlled trials. Melbourne: Cochrane Consumers and Communication Review Group. Retrieved from http://​cccrg.​cochrane.​org.
McCartney, K., & Rosenthal, R. (2000). Effect size, practical importance, and social policy for children. Child development, 71, 173–180.CrossRefPubMed
*McNeal, R. B., Hansen, W. B., Harrington, N. G., & Giles, S. M. (2004). How All Stars works: An examination of program effects on mediating variables. Health Education & Behavior, 31, 165–178.
Moher, D., Liberati, A., Tetzlaff, J., Altman, D. G., & PRISMA Group. (2009). Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: the PRISMA statement. Annals of Internal Medicine, 151, 264–269.CrossRefPubMed
Murray, D. M., & Hannan, P. J. (1990). Planning for the appropriate analysis in school-based drug-use prevention studies. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 58, 458–458.CrossRefPubMed
Norberg, M. M., Kezelman, S., & Lim-Howe, N. (2013). Primary prevention of cannabis use: a systematic review of randomized control trials. PLoS ONE, 8, e53187.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
*Parent, A. P. (2010). Effects of a comprehensive substance use prevention program with urban Adolescents. (Doctoral dissertation). Rutgers University-Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology.
Patton, G. C., Coffey, C., Carlin, J. B., Degenhardt, L., Lynskey, M., & Hall, W. (2002). Cannabis use and mental health in young people: Cohort study. British Medical Journal, 325, 1195–1198.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
Petrosino, A., & Soydan, H. (2005). The impact of program developers as evaluators on criminal recidivism: Results from meta-analyses of experimental and quasi-experimental research. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 1, 435–450.CrossRef
Porath-Waller, A. J., Beasley, E., & Beirness, D. J. (2010). A meta-analytic review of school-based prevention for cannabis use. Health Education & Behavior, 37, 709–723.CrossRef
Raudenbush, S. W. (2009). Analyzing effect sizes: Random-effects models. In H. Copper, L. V. Hedges, & J. C. Valentine (Eds.), The handbook of research synthesis and meta-analysis (2nd ed., pp. 295–315). New York: Russel Sage Foundation.
*Ringwalt, C., Clark, H. K., Hanley, S., Shamblen, S. R., & Flewelling, R. L. (2009). Project ALERT: A cluster randomized trial. Archives of Pediatric Adolescent Medicine, 163, 625–632.
*Ringwalt, C. L., Clark, H. K., Hanley, S., Shamblen, S. R., & Flewelling, R. L. (2010). The effects of Project ALERT one year past curriculum completion. Prevention Science, 11, 172–184.
Rosenthal, R. (1995). Writing meta-analytic reviews. Psychological Bulletin, 118, 183–192.CrossRef
Sánchez-Meca, J., Marín-Martinez, F., & Chacón-Moscoso, S. (2003). Effect-size indices for dichotomized outcomes in meta-analysis. Psychological Methods, 8, 448–467.CrossRefPubMed
Scammacca, N., Roberts, G., & Stuebing, K. K. (2014). Meta-analysis with complex research designs: Dealing with dependence from multiple measures and multiple group comparisons. Review of Education Research, 84, 328–364.CrossRef
Scheier, L. M., Griffin, K. W., Doyle, M. M., & Botvin, G. J. (2002). Estimates of intragroup dependence for drug use and skill measures in school-based drug abuse prevention trials: an empirical study of three independent samples. Health Education & Behavior, 29, 85–103.CrossRef
*Slater, M. D., Kelly, K. J., Edwards, R. W., Thurman, P. J., Plested, B. A., Keefe, T. J., … & Henry, K. L. (2006). Combining in-school and community-based media efforts: Reducing marijuana and alcohol uptake among younger adolescents. Health Education Research, 21, 157–167.
*Sloboda, Z., Stephens, R. C., Stephens, P. C., Grey, S. F., Teasdale, B., Hawthorne, R. D., … & Marquette, J. F. (2009). The Adolescent Substance Abuse Prevention Study: A randomized field trial of a universal substance abuse prevention program. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 102, 1–10.
*Smith, E. A., Swisher, J. D., Vicary, J. R. Bechtel, L. J., Minner, D., Henry, K. L., & Palmer, R. (2004). Evaluation of life skills training and infused-life skills training in a rural setting: Outcomes at two years. Journal of Alcohol & Drug Education, 48, 51–70.
*Spoth, R. L., Randall, G. K., Trudeau, L., Shin, C., & Redmond, C. (2008). Substance use outcomes 5½ years past baseline for partnership-based, family-school preventive interventions. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 96, 57–68.
*St. Pierre, T. L., Osgood, D. W., Mincemoyer, C. C., Kaltreider, D. L., & Kauh, T. J. (2005). Results of an independent evaluation of project ALERT delivered in schools by cooperative extension. Prevention Science, 6, 305–317.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2014). Results from the 2013 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Summary of National Findings, NSDUH Series H-48, HHS Publication No. (SMA) 14-4863. Rockville, MD: Author.
Tobler, N. S., Roona, M. R., Ochshorn, P., Marshall, D. G., Streke, A. V., & Stackpole, K. M. (2000). School-based adolescent drug prevention programs: 1998 meta-analysis. Journal Primary Prevention, 20, 275–336.CrossRef
Tobler, N. S., Lessard, T., Marshall, D., Ochshorn, P., & Roona, M. (1999). Effectiveness of school-based drug prevention programs for marijuana use. School Psychology International, 20, 105–137.CrossRef
*Turner-Musa, J. O., Rhodes, W. A., Harper, P. H., & Quinton, S. L. (2008). Hip-Hop to prevent substance use and HIV among African-American youth: A preliminary investigation. Journal of Drug Education, 38, 351–365.
*Vicary, J. R., Henry, K. L., Bechtel, L. J., Swisher, J. D., Smith, E. A., Wylie, R., & Hopkins, A. M. (2004). Life skills training effects for high and low risk rural junior high school females. Journal of Primary Prevention, 25, 399–416.
*Vicary, J. R., Smith, E. A., Swisher, J. D., Hopkins, A. M., Elek, E., Bechtel, L. J., & Henry, K. L. (2006). Results of a 3-year study of two methods of delivery of Life Skills Training. Health Education & Behavior, 33, 325–339.
White, D., & Pitts, M. (1998). Educating young people about drugs: a systematic review. Addiction, 93, 1475–87.CrossRefPubMed
Wright, M. J. (2015). Legalizing marijuana for medical purposes will increase risk of long-term, deleterious consequences for adolescents. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 149, 298–303.CrossRefPubMed
Metadata
Title
A Meta-analysis of the Effectiveness of Interactive Middle School Cannabis Prevention Programs
Authors
Steven E. Lize
Aidyn L. Iachini
Weizhou Tang
Joshua Tucker
Kristen D. Seay
Stephanie Clone
Dana DeHart
Teri Browne
Publication date
01-01-2017
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
Prevention Science / Issue 1/2017
Print ISSN: 1389-4986
Electronic ISSN: 1573-6695
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-016-0723-7

Other articles of this Issue 1/2017

Prevention Science 1/2017 Go to the issue

OriginalPaper

Testing an Integrated Model of Program Implementation: the Food, Health & Choices School-Based Childhood Obesity Prevention Intervention Process Evaluation

OriginalPaper

Effectiveness of a Cognitive Behavioral Therapy-Based Indicated Prevention Program for Children with Elevated Anxiety Levels: a Randomized Controlled Trial

ReviewPaper

Intervention with Adolescent Mother–Child Dyads and Cognitive Development in Early Childhood: a Meta-Analysis

OriginalPaper

Impact of Ethnic Composition on Mechanisms of Change in School-Based Substance Use Intervention Groups

OriginalPaper

Cortisol Patterns for Young Children Displaying Disruptive Behavior: Links to a Teacher-Child, Relationship-Focused Intervention

OriginalPaper

Explicating the Conditions Under Which Multilevel Multiple Imputation Mitigates Bias Resulting from Random Coefficient-Dependent Missing Longitudinal Data