Pilot project - A preliminary evaluation of the effectiveness of a standardized Student Assistance Program

We examined the effectiveness of Student Assistance Program group counselin g. One hundred and forty-four (144) substance using high school seniors com pleted a questionnaire in 1995 concerning their substance use before and af ter counseling, their experience in counseling, and the impact of counselin g on their substance use. Participants reported significant decreases in su bstance use and attributed these changes to counseling. Most participants l iked counseling, and higher frequency drinkers did not differ from lower fr equency drinkers in liking counseling and reporting decreased substance use . These results offer support for the effectiveness of such interventions a nd highlight the need for additional research in the area.