CAST Intervention for Reducing Adolescent Risk Behaviors
PI: Elaine Thompson
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Elaine Thompson PhD, RN
Professor
Psychosocial & Community Health
Box 358732 University of Washington
Seattle, WA 98195-7262
Email: elainet@u.washington.edu
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- Sponsor: National Institutes of Health
- Project Period: 6/1/2006 - 3/31/2011
- Current Faculty
- Carole Hooven - Co-Investigator (3 active projects)
The purpose of this prevention trial is to extend and rigorously test a promising school-based program for the prevention of multiple risk behaviors during the critical middle school years. Coping and Support Training (CAST) is a 12-session, small group intervention delivered across 6 weeks. CAST includes a parent component, including a family booster session. The intervention addresses risk factors associated with adolescent anger/aggression, depression, substance use and school failure by building health-promoting competency skills and social support resources. This proposal respondes to NIH’s call: Enhancing Adolescent Health Promotion across Multiple High Risk Behaviors (PA-02-159).Participants will include 320 at-risk 13 to 14-year-old 8th grade students from large, public middle schools in 3 school districts. Youth will be randomly assigned (n=160) to one of two conditions (CAST or “school as usual”). Youth in the intervention compared to the control group are expected to show reduced problem behaviors (anger control problems, aggression, depression); and, at longer-term follow-up, reduced suicide risk, risky sexual behaviors, ATOD use, and increased school performance (grades, attendance, positive attitudes toward school). Youth will be assessed 6 times from 8th to 10th grade. Intervention effects will be examined for short-and longer-term efficacy; and for moderating effects of gender, ethnicity, and risk-level on program outcomes. Tests will be conducted on models derived from a theoretically-specified model, positing that CAST reduces co-occurring health risk behaviors through the mediating effects of enhanced personal competencies and pro-social network building, which, in turn, attenuate the negative effects of antecedent risk factors.
be assessed 6 times over 2.5 years, from 8th to 10th grade. Effects will be examined for short and longer-term intervention efficacy, and for moderating effects of gender and risk-level on program outcomes. This trial should provide evidence of program efficacy and explicate mechanisms by which skills-training and social support reduces multiple risk behaviors and enhance health-promoting behaviors. |
