Twelfth grade follow-up of the effectiveness of a middle school-based substance abuse prevention program

A twelfth-grade follow-up afforded the opportunity to assess the long-term effects of substance abuse prevention delivered in sixth and seventh grades. A social pressures resistance skills curriculum implemented by classroom teachers had been evaluated with short-term positive results previously reported. Students completed self-administered questionnaires at sixth grade pre- and posttests, and at seventh and twelfth-grade posttests. Curriculum group students received lessons on alcohol, tobacco (cigarettes and smokeless), marijuana, and cocaine, which were later incorporated into the Michigan Model for Comprehensive School Health Education. This evaluation used data from 262 students who completed all four questionnaires and who received the complete two-year intervention or no intervention. Repeated measures analyses of variance demonstrated that significant effects evident at seventh grade for alcohol use and misuse, as well as cigarette, cocaine, and other drug use were generally not maintained through twelfth grade. Ongoing reinforcement of effective prevention is recommended.