Strengthening Causal Inference in Adolescent Drug Prevention Studies: Methods and Findings from a Controlled Study of the Urban Youth Connection Program

SUMMARY Introduction. The Urban Youth Connection represents a model substance abuse prevention program implemented in an urban public middle school and high school serving predominantly Hispanic and African American students. The program provided counseling, mentoring and academic support. Findings from the evaluation are presented in this paper. Methods. A pre-test, post-test comparison group design estimated the impact of the program on ultimate outcomes of 30-day use of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs, and intermediate outcomes of risk behaviors, psychosocial well-being, and school involvement, as measured by self-administered questionnaires given each fall and spring from 1993–1996. A non-equivalent comparison group was drawn from non-participants at each school. The data analysis strategy relied on a multivariate model comparing ultimate and intermediate outcomes at follow-up among treatment and comparison students after adjustment for demographic, baseline risk differences, and program exposures di...