Initial conditions and functioning over time among community coalitions.

Developing operationally strong community coalitions is critical to actualizing their potential for public health improvement. The purpose of this study was to measure how substance use prevention coalitions in Mexico functioned across their first 1.5 years, and to test associations between initial community contextual factors and subsequent coalition functioning and outcomes.

Effects of Sectoral Diversity on Community Coalition Processes and Outcomes.

Collaboration with diverse partners is challenging but essential for the implementation of prevention programs and policies. Increased communication with partners from diverse sectors may help community coalitions overcome the challenges that diversity presents. We examined these issues empirically in a study of 17 substance use prevention coalitions in Mexico.

Thriving in School: The Role of Sixth-Grade Adolescent-Parent-School Relationships in Predicting Eighth-Grade Academic Outcomes.

The present study uses an ecological systems perspective to examine how parental involvement in school-related activities in sixth grade influences early adolescents' school bonding and academic achievement in eighth grade. Results of multilevel models of multiple data sources (i.e.

Knowledge, Attitudes, and Commitment Concerning Evidence-Based Prevention Programs: Differences between Family and Consumer Sciences and 4-H Youth Development Educators.

In this article, we describe the results of a study designed to assess knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes towards evidence-based and other prevention programs among county Extension educators. We examined differences across educators from the Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) and 4-H Youth Development program areas. Analyses based on a multi-state sample of educators revealed significant differences across program areas such that, compared to their 4-H counterparts, FCS educators were more knowledgeable of evidence-based programs and had more favorable perceptions and attitudes towards evidence-based and other pre-packaged prevention programs.

Developmental momentum toward substance dependence: natural histories and pliability of risk factors in youth experiencing chronic stress.

Background: Mitigation of substance use (SU) disorder (SUD) risk factors is a common goal of prevention. Research has clarified much about risk factors including their prediction of SU/SUD, associations with other etiological variables and mediation of SU outcomes. Greater understanding of the emergence of risk factors themselves may improve prevention.

Team factors that predict to sustainability indicators for community-based prevention teams.

Because they often set out with a guarantee of only short-term funding, many community partnerships will face a threat to their sustainability almost as soon as the first money runs out. Research into the factors that enable some coalitions and partnerships to meet the challenge when others fail is limited. This study begins to fill this gap in our understanding by examining influences on the process of sustainability planning in the context of a collaborative partnership focused on youth development.

Community and team member factors that influence the early phase functioning of community prevention teams: the PROSPER project.

This research examines the early development of community teams in a specific university-community partnership project called PROSPER (Spoth et al., Prev Sci 5:31-39, 2004). PROSPER supports local community teams in rural areas and small towns to implement evidence-based programs intended to support positive youth development and reduce early substance use.