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RESEARCH TO PRACTICE: THE VALUE OF ENGAGING YOUTH IN ADAPTING SUBSTANCE ABUSE PREVENTION INTERVENTIONS
Author(s) -
Holleran Steiker Lori K.,
Goldbach Jeremy T.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
alcoholism: clinical and experimental research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.267
H-Index - 153
eISSN - 1530-0277
pISSN - 0145-6008
DOI - 10.1111/j.1530-0277.2008.00689_5.x
Subject(s) - psychological intervention , curriculum , intervention (counseling) , psychology , context (archaeology) , agency (philosophy) , substance abuse , substance abuse prevention , drug prevention , brief intervention , medical education , applied psychology , social psychology , psychotherapist , medicine , pedagogy , psychiatry , sociology , paleontology , social science , biology
Youth who have already started using drugs and/or alcohol, are often “too late” for Universal and Selective prevention and “too soon” for intensive treatment (Eggert, 1996). Studies have long supported the belief that youth who are not motivated for change will typically not respond favorably to interventions, and it is recommended that stage‐based, tailored interventions be utilized with at risk and drug‐initiated youth (Werch, 2001). Important cultural differences exist in each agency, which clearly show a need for research on how adaptation can create attitudinal and behavioral shifts in youth. This presentation will summarize Holleran Steiker's K01 which found that by involving youth as drug and alcohol experts in the context of their culture, a prevention curriculum can be systematically tailored to include true‐to‐life experiences of the youth, making it culturally relevant and more effective for their peers (Holleran Steiker, 2008). Holleran Steiker found not only that the youth who adapt are easily engaged; animatedly discussing the payoffs and downsides of drugs and alcohol, but also that the groups that received the culturally adapted versions had better outcomes than those that received the original curricula or no intervention (Holleran Steiker, 2008). Serendipitous qualitative findings showed that the youth engaged in adaptation reported changes in attitudes towards drugs and alcohol and changes in substance use. Discussion of the implications of this study will show the audience the need for further research in the area of cultural adaptation in prevention practice.