Building Xperience: a multilevel alcohol and drug prevention intervention

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Community Psychology
• Substance Abuse Prevention

Background:

• Urban youth (ages 14-20) face significant risks for alcohol and drug use.
• Existing prevention programs often lack a comprehensive, multilevel approach.
• The "Xperience" program was developed to address these gaps through a community-based strategy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the 3-year formative process of building the "Xperience" multilevel intervention.
• To detail the rationale for a multilevel, participatory strategy in substance abuse prevention.
• To provide a guide for developing similar community-based interventions for youth.

Main Methods:

• Adoption of a multilevel, community-based strategy targeting individual, peer, community, and city levels.
• Extensive formative research to inform intervention model development.
• Pilot intervention design and refinement over two years.

Main Results:

• Development of a comprehensive, multilevel intervention model for alcohol and drug prevention.
• Identification of key protective and risk factors at various ecological levels.
• Establishment of program methods and outcome goals for the "Xperience" intervention.

Conclusions:

• A multilevel, community-based approach is effective for addressing youth substance use.
• Formative research and pilot testing are crucial for intervention development.
• The "Xperience" program offers valuable lessons for future prevention efforts.