Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2014 Oct;15(5):623-32.
doi: 10.1007/s11121-013-0413-7.

Prevention system mediation of communities that care effects on youth outcomes

Eric C Brown  1 , J David Hawkins, Isaac C Rhew, Valerie B Shapiro, Robert D Abbott, Sabrina Oesterle, Michael W Arthur, John S Briney, Richard F Catalano
Affiliations

Prevention system mediation of communities that care effects on youth outcomes

Eric C Brown et al. Prev Sci. 2014 Oct.

Abstract

This study examined whether the significant intervention effects of the Communities That Care (CTC) prevention system on youth problem behaviors observed in a panel of eighth-grade students (Hawkins et al. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine 163:789-798 2009) were mediated by community-level prevention system constructs posited in the CTC theory of change. Potential prevention system constructs included the community's degree of (a) adoption of a science-based approach to prevention, (b) collaboration on prevention activities, (c) support for prevention, and (d) norms against adolescent drug use as reported by key community leaders in 24 communities. Higher levels of community adoption of a science-based approach to prevention and support for prevention in 2004 predicted significantly lower levels of youth problem behaviors in 2007, and higher levels of community norms against adolescent drug use predicted lower levels of youth drug use in 2007. Effects of the CTC intervention on youth problem behaviors by the end of eighth grade were mediated fully by community adoption of a science-based approach to prevention. No other significant mediated effects were found. Results support CTC's theory of change that encourages communities to adopt a science-based approach to prevention as a primary mechanism for improving youth outcomes.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Mediation model of prevention system change using Communities That Care
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Aarons GA, Hurlburt M, Horwitz SM. Advancing a conceptual model of evidence-based practice implementation in public service sectors. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research. 2011;38:4–23. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ajzen I, Fishbein M. Understanding attitudes and predicting social behavior. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall; 1980.
    1. Arthur MW, Hawkins JD, Catalano RF, Olson JJ. Community Key Informant Survey. Seattle: Social Development Research Group, University of Washington; 2002.
    1. Arthur MW, Glaser RR, Hawkins JD. Steps towards community-level resilience: Community adoption of science-based prevention programming. In: Peters RD, Leadbeater B, McMahon RJ, editors. Resilience in children, families, and communities: Linking context to practice and policy. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers; 2005. pp. 177–194.
    1. Arthur MW, Hawkins JD, Brown EC, Briney JS, Oesterle S, Abbott RD. Implementation of the Communities That Care prevention system by coalitions in the Community Youth Development Study. Journal of Community Psychology. 2010;38:245–258. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types