Year: 2011
Type: article
Abstract: Issues of alcohol and drug use are more pronounced during adolescence than at any other period of the life span. There is currently a need for research focusing on evaluating developmentally appropriate interventions for adolescents at risk for substance use issues. The present study seeks to evaluate the effectiveness of YASP (Youth Alternative Solutions Program), a hospital-based intervention program at Loma Linda University Medical Center. It is hypothesized that participation in YASP will decrease levels of substance use, change substance use outcome expectancies, decrease negative consequences resulting from substance use and increase participants sense of self-efficacy. A sample 27 adolescents was recruited from several YASP cohorts from August 2010 until October 2011 for this study. Twenty-seven total participants completed both time 1 (pre-test) and time 2 (post-test) questionnaires and only 14 of these participants completed all 3 waves of data collection (pre-test, post-test, and follow-up). Participants were administered pre-test, post-test, and 3 month follow-up questionnaires. Results indicated that a significant increase in negative alcohol outcome expectancies occurred between the three study time points. Given the high predictive value of alcohol expectancies in determining drinking behaviors this was an important finding in determining the effectiveness of this intervention. More comprehensive studies of the YASP program should be conducted in the future to determine the utility of hospital-based, educational substance use interventions and to provide evidence of the long-term effects of this program.
Author: Whitney N. Brown
Language: English
Subfield: Epidemiology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W45261856