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
. 2003 Dec;10(4):491-504.
doi: 10.1093/clipsy.bpg049.

Reducing Substance Use Among African American Adolescents: Effectiveness of School-Based Health Centers

W LaVome Robinson  1 , Gary W Harper  1 , Michael E Schoeny  2
Affiliations

Reducing Substance Use Among African American Adolescents: Effectiveness of School-Based Health Centers

W LaVome Robinson et al. Clin Psychol (New York). 2003 Dec.

Abstract

This paper explores the impact of school-based heath centers (SBHCs) on the substance use behaviors of low-income, inner-city African American adolescents. Researchers surveyed 2,114 9th- and 11th-grade students from seven inner-city public high schools (three with SBHCs and four without SBHCs). Of the initial 2,114 students, 598 SBHC students and 598 non-SBHC students were successfully matched using ethnicity, grade, gender, and propensity scores. The results of separate grade × gender × SBHC ANOVAs indicated significant grade × SBHC interactions (i.e., such that substance use decreased in SBHC schools while increasing in non-SBHC schools) for cigarettes (p = .05) and marijuana (p< .001), but not for alcohol. These findings show that the SBHC intervention model is promising toward the prevention and reduction of substance use among high-risk African American adolescents and highlight the importance of accessible, holistic, and culturally appropriate health care.

Keywords: African American; adolescents; intervention; substance use.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Number of days respondents smoked cigarettes in past month by SBHC status and grade. Note: Main effect for SBHC status, F(1,585) = 7.55, p < .01; interaction effect for SBHC × grade, F(1,585) = 3.83, p = .05.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Number of days respondents drank alcohol in past month by SBHC status and grade. Note: Main effect for grade, F(1,586) = 4.26, p < .05.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Number of times respondents smoked marijuana in past month by SBHC status and grade. Note: Main effect for SBHC status, F(1,587) = 4.28, p < .05; interaction effect for SBHC × grade, F(1,587) = 12.72, p < .001.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Allen L, & Mitchell CM (1996). Poverty and adolescent health In Kagawa-Singer M, Katz PA, Taylor DA, & Vanderryn JHM (Eds.), Health issues for minority adolescents (pp. 1–35). Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press.
    1. American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on School Health (2001). School health centers and other integrated school health services. Pediatrics, 107(1), 198–201. - PubMed
    1. Barbarin OA (1993). Emotional and social development of African American children. Journal of Black Psychology, 19, 381–390.
    1. Barker LA, & Adelman HS (1994). Mental health and help-seeking among ethnic minority adolescents. Journal of Adolescence, 17, 251–263.
    1. Baumrind D. (1987). A developmental perspective on adolescent risk taking in contemporary America. New Directions for Child Development, 37, 93–125. - PubMed