AN OUTCOME EVALUATION OF ACROSS AGES - AN INTERGENERATIONAL MENTORINGAPPROACH TO DRUG PREVENTION

The goal of Across Ages is to demonstrate the effectiveness of a compr ehensive, intergenerational mentoring approach to drug prevention for high-risk middle school students. The core of the project is the invol vement of older adults (55+) as mentors to the students. Older mentors help children develop the awareness, self-confidence, and skills they need to resist drugs and overcome overwhelming obstacles. In addition to mentoring, the project engages students in community service activ ities that benefit frail elders, provides a classroom-bared life skill s curriculum and offers workshops to parents. The project targets sixt h-grade students attending three public middle schools in Philadelphia 's most stressed neighborhoods and has served 562 children during the first 3 project years. The evaluation results support the initial hypo thesis that the multifaceted intervention approach would result in mor e positive changes in student knowledge, attitudes, and behavior conce rning substance abuse and related life skills and that those whose men tors were most involved with them would fare even better.