School-based prevention of problem behaviors: A meta-analysis

This study examines the features of effective school-based prevention of cr ime, substance use, dropout/nonattendance, and other conduct problems. It s ummarizes, using meta-analytic techniques, results from 165 studies of scho ol-based prevention activities that ranged from individual counseling or be havior modification programs through efforts to change the way schools are managed. The results highlight several inadequacies in the existing researc h for guiding policy and practice, the most notable of which is that many p opular school-based prevention approaches have not been well studied to dat e. The study shows, however, that school-based prevention practices appear to be effective in reducing alcohol and drug use, dropout and nonattendance , and other conduct problems. The size of the average effect for each of th e four outcomes was small and there was considerable heterogeneity across s tudies in the magnitude of effects, even within program type after adjustin g for measured method and population differences. Non-cognitive-behavioral counseling, social work, and other therapeutic interventions show consisten tly negative effects, whereas self-control or social competency promotion i nstruction that makes use of cognitive-behavioral and behavioral instructio nal methods show consistently positive effects. Also effective are noninstr uctional cognitive-behavioral and behavioral methods programs. Environmenta lly focused interventions appear to be particularly effective for reducing delinquency and drug use.