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Course Syllabus: 7060
Prevention Research (3 hours)
Fall Semester 2003

INSTRUCTOR: Karol L. Kumpfer, Ph.D.,
Associate Professor of Health Education
Telephone Number: 581-7718
karol.kumpfer@health.utah.edu
alta_institute@msn.com

MENTORS: Each student enrolled in this class will have the opportunity to select a mentor from the leading prevention scientists in the country, based on the student's area of interest. The mentors will be provided through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Society for Prevention Research, the professional organization of prevention researchers from many different universities and disciplines, nationally and internationally. Mentors will provide on-line support to the students in answering debate questions and completion of course assignments.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this class is to provide professional skills that will help students to select, implement, and evaluate the effectiveness of evidence-based health promotion and prevention interventions. Students will increase their knowledge, skills, and expertise in the most up-to-date information on effective health promotion and community-based prevention interventions in their area of primary interest.

OBJECTIVES: The objectives of the course are to:
1. Increase student's knowledge of the wide array of evidence-based health promotion and prevention interventions that can be used to prevent or treat problems in youth and families by strengthening families, schools, workplaces, and communities,
2. Increase students knowledge of the principles and core elements of effective prevention practices.
3. Increase students professional skills in conducting needs assessments and evaluations of evidence-based prevention programs, and
4. Increase students publication and writing skills.

COURSE TEXTBOOKS

Hansen, W.B.,.Giles, S,M. & Fearnow-Kenney, M.D. (Eds.). (2000). Improving Prevention Effectiveness, (pp. 127-140), Tanglewood Research, Inc., Greensboro, North Carolina.

Mrazek, P.J., & Haggerty, R.J. (1994). Reducing risks for mental disorders: Frontiers for preventive intervention research. Washington, DC: National Academy Press for the Institute of Medicine, Committee on Prevention of Mental Disorders.

Kaftarian, S. J & Kumpfer, K.L.(Eds.) (2000). The Journal of Primary Prevention, 21(2), Special Issue: Family-focused research and primary prevention practice. New York: Kluwer Academic/Human Sciences Press.

Kumpfer, K. L., Drug Control Policy Group, & Baxley, G. (1997). Drug abuse prevention: what works (NIH Pub. No. 97-4110). Washington, DC: NIDA and DHHS.

Wandersman, A. & Kaftarian, S. J. (Guest Editors) (2000).Bridging the gap between research and practice in community-based substance abuse prevention. Journal of Community Psychology. 28, (3), 237-373.

Weissberg, R. & Kumpfer, K. (Eds) (in press). Special Issue on Prevention. AmericanPsychologist.

CONTENTS

1. What is Prevention? Definitions and Terminology, Universal, Selective, and Indicated Prevention. Prevention is Treatment of Indicated Populations

Web Debate Questions: What are some populations that can be considered high-risk groups to be used in selective prevention? How can a mental health treatment for adolescents be considered an indicated prevention approach?

Readings:
Mrazek, P.J., & Haggerty, R.J. (1994). Reducing risks for mental disorders: Frontiers for preventive intervention research. Washington, DC: National Academy Press for the Institute of Medicine, Committee on Prevention of Mental Disorders.

2. Status of Health of American Youth and Adults: Changing Demographics, Problems of Poverty and Lack of Parenting Support

Web Debate Question: Is the health and social status of American children improving or decreasing? Why?

Readings:

Kids Count
Healthy People 2010. Surgeon General's Office. Washington, D.C.

Jencks, C., & Mayer, S.E. (1990). The social consequences of growing up in a poor neighborhood. In L.E. Lynn & M.G.H.McGeary (Eds.), Inner-city poverty in the United States.Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

Johnston, L.D., O'Malley, P.M., & Bachman, J.G. (2000). National survey results on drug use from the Monitoring the Future study, 1975-2000 Volume I: Secondary school students (NIH Publication No. 2000-). Rockville, MD: National Institute on Drug Abuse, c. 420 pp.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administrations, (2000). National Household Survey on Drug Abuse Series: H-11; National Household Survey on Drug Abuse Main Findings, 1998 (DHHS Pub. No. (SMA)00-3381). Washington, DC: Office of Applied Studies.

3. Needs of Children and Youth Today: Basic and Resilience Needs

Web Debate Question: What do the types of families you see need most in terms of basic services and why? What is the impact of welfare policies on the families you see or know? Based on the data you collected on families, what do you think these families need most to increase their resilience and family strengths?

Readings: Richardson, Neiger, Kumpfer on Resilience
Kumpfer, K.L. (1999a). Factors and processes contributing to resilience: The resilience framework. In M.D. Glantz and J.L. Johnson (Eds.) Resilience and Development: Positive Life Adaptions, 179-224. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.

Kumpfer, K.L., & Turner, C.W. (1990-1991). The social ecology model of adolescent substance abuse: Implications for prevention. The International Journal of the Addictions, 25(4A), 435-463.

Home Work Assignment Exercise: 1) Collect data on resilience and purpose in life from five individuals using the Purpose In Life Scale (Neiger, 1996) (Kumpfer & Dunst, 1993) on Kumpfer web site or 2). Interview one person from the media, welfare system, child protective services, or department of education on what they are seeing in terms of increases in needs for prevention services.

4. The Impact of Community Environments on Children: Risk and Protective Factors

Web Debate Question: What are the most critical risk and protective factors that influence later negative outcomes in children?

Practice Assignment: Develop a youth needs assessment instrument by downloading the CSAP family assessment scales on web site: www.samhsa.gov/csap and creating your own assessment instrument to conduct a needs assessment of risk and protective factors.

Readings: (read at least two)
Ary, D.V., Duncan, T.E., Biglan, A., Metzler, C.W., Noell, J.W., & Smolkowski, K. (1999). Development of adolescent problem behavior. Journal of Abnormal- Child Psychology, 27(2), 141-150.

Kandel, D. Simcha Fagan, O. and Davies, M. (1986). Risk factors for delinquency and illicit drug use from adolescence to young adulthood. Journal of Drug Issues, 60, 67 90.

Kellam, S. G., Simon, M. B., & Ensminger, M. E. (1983). Antecedents of teenage drug use and psychological well being: A ten-year community wide prospective study. In D. Ricks and B. S. Dohrenwend (Eds.), Origins of psychopathology: Research and public policy (pp. 17-42). Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.

Resnick, M., Bearman, P.S., Blum, R.W., Bauman, K.E., Harris, K.M., Jones, J., Tabor, J., Beuhring, L.H., Sleving, R.E, Shaw, M., Ireland, M, Bearinger, L.H., & Udry, R.L. (1997). Protecting adolescents from harm. Journal of the American Medical Association, 278(10), 823-832.

Springer, J.F., Sambrano, S., Sale, E., Nistler, , M., Kisim, R., & Hermann, J (2000). The National Cross-site Evaluation of High-Risk Youth Programs: Final Report. EMT Associates, Inc. and ORC Macro, Prepared for CSAP, Rockville: MD.

Turner, C., Sales, L., & Springer, F. (1998). Analysis of the High Risk Youth Grantee Program: Pathways to substance use. Paper presented at the 3rd Annual CSAP High Risk Youth Conference, Cincinnati, OH, July 23, 1998.

5. How do We Know What Works in Adolescent Health Promotion Interventions: Evaluation Research Methodology.

Web Debate Question: Why are so few adolescent health promotion and prevention interventions well evaluated? What would be an ideal design for controlling internal and external threats to validity of the outcome results for community-based, health promotion programs and why?

Readings (read at least two)
Cook, T. D., & Campbell, D. T. (1979). Quasi-experimentation: Design and analysis issues in field settings. Chicago: Rand-McNally.

Cronbach, L. J. (1951). Coefficient alpha and internal structure of tests. Psychometrika 16: 297-334.

Dunst, C.J., & Trivette, C.M. (1994). Methodological considerations and strategies for studying the long-term follow-up of early intervention. In S.L. Friedman, & H.C. Haywood, (Eds.) Developmental follow-up: Concepts, domains and methods (pp. 277-313). San Diego, CA: Academic Press, Inc.

Gresham, F.M., and Elliott, S.N. (1990). Social Skills Rating System Manual. Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance Service.

Tobler, N. S., & Stratton, H. H. (1997). Effectiveness of school-based prevention programs: A meta-analysis of the research. Journal of Primary Prevention 18(1), 71-128.

Practice Assignment:: Select an adolescent prevention program in any area of your choosing (e.g., HIV/AIDS prevention, teen pregnancy, substance abuse, delinquency and violence, etc.) that you think will best match the needs of a certain group of youth. List the five most critical outcomes you would want to change by implementing a prevention intervention of your choice. Modify your needs assessment instrument to be used as a pre-test, post-test, and follow-up instrument.

6. Theories of Prevention Interventions: What Makes Prevention Programs Work?

Web Debate Question: What are the most critical processes in effective school and community interventions that you believe contribute to positive changes in individuals and teenagers?

Readings:

Tobler, N. S. (1986). Meta-analysis of 143 adolescent drug prevention programs: Quantitative outcome results of program participants compared to a control or comparison group. The Journal of Drug Issues, 16, 537-567.

Tobler, N. S., & Stratton, H. H. (1997). Effectiveness of school-based prevention programs: A meta-analysis of the research. Journal of Primary Prevention, 18 (1), 71-128.

Kazdin, A.E. (1993). Adolescent mental health: Prevention and treatment programs. American Psychologist, 48(2), 127-140.

Kazdin, A.E. (1995). Conduct Disorders in Childhood and Adolescence. (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

7. Principles of Community-based Prevention: Core Elements of Effective Prevention Programs. Recruitment, Retention, Incentives, Fidelity, Dosage, Matching Client's Needs and Reducing Barriers to Attendance.

Web Debate Question: What is missing from this list of principles of community-based prevention? What are some of the other principles of prevention science?

Practice Assignment: Locate other lists of principles of community-based practices and create your own list.

Web sites: ONDCP Principles of Effectiveness
NIDA Principles of Prevention
CSAP Principles of Effectiveness on www.samhsa.gov

Readings:
National Institute on Drug Abuse. (1997). Preventing Drug Use Among Children and Adolescents, NIH Publication No. 97-4212. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

Nation, M.., Crusto, C., Wandersman, A.., Kumpfer, K., Seybolt, D., Morrissey-Kane, E., & Divino, K. (in press). What works in prevention: Principles of effective prevention programs. In R. Weissberg and K.L. Kumpfer (Eds.) Special Issue on Prevention, American Psychologist

8. Overview of Evidence-based Prevention Interventions: What Works.

Web Debate Question: What are the criteria now and what should be the criteria for determining whether there is sufficient evidence of effectiveness to recommend dissemination of a prevention program as an evidence-based program? See CDC and CSAP (1998) for reviews of their criteria.

Center for Substance Abuse Prevention. (1998). Preventing substance abuse among children and adolescents: Family-centered approaches. Prevention Enhancement Protocols System (PEPS). DHHS Publication No. (SMA) 3223-FY=98. Washington, DC: Supt. of Docs., U.S. Government Printing Office.
On line at : www.health.org Or order free monograph from NCADI
Chambless, D.L., & Hollon, S.D. (1998). Defining empirically supported therapies. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 66(1), 7-18.

Lutzker, J. R. (1998). Handbook of child abuse research and treatment. New York: Plenum Press.
Kumpfer, K. L., Drug Control Policy Group, & Baxley, G. (1997). Drug abuse prevention: what works (NIH Pub. No. 97-4110). Washington, DC: NIDA and DHHS.

9. Community Mobilization Environmental Change Approaches: Theory, Core Elements, Outcome Effectiveness, and Evidence-based Programs

On-line Debate Question: What are the distinguishing features of community mobization change programs? Which program within these models served at the basis of most of the other programs?

Readings:
Hawkins, D. & Catalano, R. F. Jr. (1999). Communities That Care (2nd Edition). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Kumpfer, K. L., Whiteside, H. O., & Wandersman., A. (1996). Assessing and increasing community readiness for prevention: A handbook of issues, tips, and tools. National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Pentz, M. A. (1995) Prevention research in multiethnic communities: Developing community support and collaboration, and adapting research methods. In G.J. Botvin, S. Schinke, and M. O. Orlandi (Eds.), Drug abuse prevention with multiethnic youth (pp.193-214). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Perry, C. L., Williams, C. L., Veblen-Mortenson, S., Toomey, T. L., Komro, K. A., Anstine, P. S., McGovern, P. G., Finnegan, J. F., Forster, J. L., Wagenaar, A. C., Wolfson, M. (1996). Project Northland: Outcomes of a community-wide alcohol use prevention program during early adolescence. American Journal of Public Health, 86 (7), 956-965.

Wandersman, A. & Kaftarian, S. J. (Guest Editors) (2000).Bridging the gap between research and practice in community-based substance abuse prevention. Journal of Community Psychology. 28, (3), 237-373.

10. School-based Social Skills Training Approaches: Theory, Core Elements, Outcome Effectiveness, and Evidence-based Programs

On-line Debate Question: What are the distinguishing features of school-based social skills training programs? Which model program has the most evidence of effectiveness?

Readings:
W.B. Hansen, S.M.Giles, & M.D. Fearnow-Kenney (Eds.). Improving Prevention Effectiveness, (pp. 127-140), Tanglewood Research, Inc., Greensboro, North Carolina.
Kumpfer, K. L., Turner, C., & Alvarado, R. (1991). A community change model for school health promotion. Journal of Health Education, 22 (2), 94-110.

Tierney, J. R., Grossman, J. B., & Resch, N. L. (1995). Making a difference: An impact study of Big Brothers/Big Sisters. Philadelphia: Public/Private Ventures

Schaps, E., Battistich, V., & Solomon, D. (1997). School as a caring community: A key to character. In A. Molnar (Ed.), The construction of children=s character. 96th Yearbook of the national society for the study of education part 2. (pp. 127-139). Chicago, Il: The National Society for the Study of Education.

11. Health Education Approaches: Do They Work? How Can We Get Health Education Programs in Schools?

On-line Debate Question: What are the distinguishing features of this approach and what are the most researched programs?

Readings:

Bauman, K.E., Foshee, V.A., Ennett, S.T., Hicks, K., & Pemberton, M. (2001). Family Matters: A family-directed program designed to prevent adolescent tobacco and alcohol use. Health Promotion and Practice, 2, (1), 81-96.

12. Family Strengthening Approaches: Theory, Core Elements, Outcome Effectiveness, and Evidence-based Programs

On-line Debate Question: What are the distinquishing features of this approach and what are the most researched programs?

Readings:

Kaftarian, S. J & Kumpfer, K.L.(Guest Eds.) (2000). The Journal of Primary Prevention, 21(2), Special Issue: Family-focused research and primary prevention practice. New York: Kluwer Academic/Human Sciences Press.

Kumpfer, K.L. (2000). Strengthening family involvement in school substance abuse programs. In W.B. Hansen, S.M.Giles, & M.D. Fearnow-Kenney (Eds.). Improving Prevention Effectiveness, (pp. 127-140), Tanglewood Research, Inc., Greensboro, North Carolina.

Szapocznik, J., & Williams, R. A. (2000). Brief strategic family therapy: Twenty-five years of interplay among theory, research and practice in adolescent behavior problems and drug abuse. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 3 (2), 117-135

13. Harm-Reduction Approaches and Community Policy, Laws, Regulations: Theory, Core Elements, Outcome Effectiveness, and Evidence-based Programs

On-line Debate Question: What are the distinguishing features of this approach and what are the most researched programs?

Readings:

Grube, J. W. & Nygaard, P. (2000, February). Adolescent drinking and alcohol policy. Paper presented at the Alcohol Policy and the Public Good: An International Conference, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Grube, J. W. & Voas, R. B. (1996). Predicting underage drinking and driving behaviors. Addiction, 91, 1843-1857.

Grube, J. W. & Wallack, L. (1994). Television beer advertising and drinking knowledge, beliefs, and intentions among schoolchildren. American Journal of Public Health, 84, 254-259.

Gruenewald, P. J. (1997). Analysis approaches to community evaluation. Evaluation Review, 21 (2), 209-230.

Holder, H. D., Saltz, R. F., Grube, J. W., Treno, A. J., Reynolds, R. I., Voas, R. B., & Gruenewald, P. J. (1997). Summing up: Lessons from a comprehensive community prevention trial. Addiction, 92 (suppl. 2), S293-S301.

Treno, A. J., & Holder, H. D. (1997). Community mobilization: Evaluation of an environmental approach to local action. Addiction, 92 (Supplement 2), S173-S187.

Wagenaar, A. C., Murray, D. M., Toomey, T. L. (2000). Communities mobilizing for change on alcohol: Effects of a randomized trial on arrests and traffic crashes. Addiction, 95 (2), 209-217.

Wagenaar, A. C. & Toomey, T. L. (in press). Alcohol policy: gaps between legislative action and current research. Contemporary Drug Problems.

Wagenaar, A. C. & Wolfson, M. (1995). Deterring sales and provision of alcohol to minors: a study of enforcement in 295 counties in four states. Public Health Reports, 110, 419-427.

Wagenaar, A. C. & Wolfson, M. (1994). Enforcement of the legal minimum drinking age in the United States. Journal of Public Health Policy, 15 (1), 37-53.

14. Cultural, Age, and Local Adaptations to Increase Effectiveness

On-line Debate Question: How much have prevention programs been modified to work with diverse cultural populations and what are the typical types of modifications made to the program curriculums? Which evidence-based programs have culturally adapted versions for American Indian families?

Readings:

Hansen, N. D., Pepitone-Arreola-Rockwell, F., Greene, A. F. (2000). Multicultural competence: Criteria and case examples. Professional Psychology Research and Practice, 31 (6), 652-660.

King, J., Beals, J., Manson, S.M., & Trimble, J.E. (1992). A structural equation model of factors related to substance use among American Indian adolescents. In J. E. Trimble, C. S. Bolek, & S. J. Niemcryck, (Eds.) Ethnic and Multicultural Drug Abuse: Perspectives on Current Research (pp. 253-268). Binghamton, New York: Haworth Press.

Turner, W.L (2000). Cultural considerations in family-based primary prevention programs in drug abuse. Journal of Primary Prevention, 21(2), 285B303.

15. Dissemination Issues: Are Evidence-based Prevention Interventions Still Effective When Implemented by Practitioners?

On-line Debate Question: How much have evidence-based practices been adopted by practitioners? Why have evidence-based programs not been implemented by practitioners any more than they have?

Readings:

Backer, T. E. (2000). The failure of success: Challenges of disseminating effective substance abuse prevention programs. Journal of Community Psychology, 28, (3),363-373.

Molgaard, V.K. (1997). The Extension Service as key mechanism for research and services delivery for prevention of mental health disorders in rural areas. American Journal of Community Psychology, 25(4), 515-544

Rogers, E.M. (1995). Diffusion of innovations (4th ed.). New York: Free Press..

16. Advocacy for Evidence-based Prevention and Health Promotion: Policy Issues

On-line Debate Question: What can be done to get more funding for evidence-based programs? What has been done so far to encourage community agencies and schools to implement effective programs?

Readings:

Biglan, A., & Taylor, T.K. (2000). Increasing the use of science to improve child-rearing. J. of Primary Prevention, 21, (2), 207-226..

Biglan, A., Mrazek, P.J., Carnine, D., & Flay, B. R. (in press). The integration of research and practice in the prevention of youth problem behaviors. American Psychologist.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Students are expected to complete their weekly readings, complete the weekly web debate questions with at least a half page response, a quarterly quiz, finish assignments, and write a final paper for publication with their mentor .

EVALUATION:
Students are evaluated on the basis of their participation in the weekly debate questions, test scores on the quizzes, quality of their finished assignments, and final paper.

GRADING:
All scores will be totaled from all sources and the final grades will be assigned on the basis of graduate students standards. Most grades will be As or Bs with Cs or Ds reserved for poor or failing performance.

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