The BRAVE (Building Resiliency and Vocational Excellence) Program: Evaluation Findings for a Career-Oriented Substance Abuse and Violence Preventive Intervention

Abstract

This article examines the effectiveness of a career-oriented intervention for preventing involvement with alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs (ATODs) and violence and for promoting resilient behavior among eighth-grade, African American middle school students (N=178; n=92 intervention and n=86 comparison) through the implementation of the Building Resiliency and Vocational Excellence (BRAVE) Program. Students were randomly assigned to either the intervention or control group. Students in the evaluation participated in the school-based BRAVE Program intervention and the standard public school curriculum. Comparison students participated only in the standard curriculum. Alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use and violent behavior were assessed for 178 students at baseline, post-test, and one-year follow up (one year after baseline). Results revealed a beneficial effect of the intervention on participants' frequency of use of alcohol (p<.04) and marijuana (p<.05), but no effect for violent behavior.

Is there room for resilience? A scoping review and critique of substance use literature and its utilization of the concept of resilience

“…Resilience has been described as a response to situational demands, including the ability to recover from negative and stressful experiences and find positive meaning in seemingly adverse situations setback (Connor and Davidson, 2003; Luthar, Cicchetti and Becker, 2000). [ 129 ] Griffin et al, 2009; ( n = 178); US • Resilience school programs for middle school youth Resiliency can be defined as a process of overcoming or averting negative outcomes through the interaction of protective factors and risk factors (Rew and Horner, 2003; Spitler, Kemper, and Parker 2002). [ 108 ] Hammersley et al, 2015; ( n = 55); UK • Recovering IDUs with experiences of childhood trauma Resilience explains why some severely traumatised children recover (Cyrulnik, 2009; Werner, 1993).…”

“…In contrast to these studies, several do not explain how adversity is measured. This type of ‘taking adversity for granted’ occurs most often in studies of student drug use, where the reader is left to assume that the threat facing students is the social influence to try drugs [ 82 , 96 , 105 , 129 ]. The dilemma with this approach is that since it is not measured how often, if ever, these youth are offered drugs, it is “impossible to assess whether or not these students had to bounce back from adversity and go on with their lives” ([ 82 ], p. 18).…”

“…In this field, a substantial number of researchers continue to see resilience as an “inner state or intrinsic quality of the human psyche” ([ 139 ], p. 284), with some authors emphasizing the psychological and personality aspects of resilience against drug use (e.g., [ 96 , 111 , 112 , 140 ]), while others discuss the need for a resilient constitution or skill set to resist involvement with drugs (e.g., [ 73 , 102 , 109 , 141 ]). In essence, when focusing on individual-level factors, resilience is presented as an attribute that ‘must be’ developed (e.g., through resilience education/school programs) or maintained (e.g., throughout addiction recovery) [ 66 , 129 , 142 ].…”

Staying in the ‘sweet spot’: A resilience-based analysis of the lived experience of low-risk drinking and abstention among British youth

“…The importance of ‘making a free choice’ supports previous indications of the utility of enhancing moderate drinking self-efficacy (Atwell, Abraham, & Duka, 2011 ). Other interventions have effectively targeted self-efficacy, drink refusal skills and vocational skills (Fang & Schinke, 2013 ; Griffin, Holliday, Frazier, & Braithwaite, 2009 ; Johnson et al, 1998 ). Incorporating coping support and social experience may bolster the efficacy of such interventions.…”

Examining subgroup effects by socioeconomic status of public health interventions targeting multiple risk behaviour in adolescence

“…Targeted studies not included in the analysis and to which group the intervention was targeted towardsPrimary AuthorsTrialTargeted to which groupBernstein 2010 [66]Reaching Adolescents for PreventionYoung people with high levels of risk behaviourBerry 2009 [67]Coaching for CommunitiesYoung people with at least one of five key risk factorsBond et al 2001 [68]GatehouseGovernment, independent and Catholic schoolsBrody 2012a [69]Adults in the makingTargeted to African American families in rural GeorgiaBrody 2012b [69]SAAF-TTargeted to African American families in rural GeorgiaBush 1989 [70]Know Your Body 2Black students in Columbia districtCatalano 1999 [71]Focus on FamiliesParents in methadone treatment and their childrenClark et al 2010 [72]SUCCESSYouth with behavioural problemsConduct Problems Prevention Research Group 2014 [73]Fast TrackChildren with conduct problemsCunningham 2012 [74]SafERteensHazardous and harmful adolescent drinkers attending emergency department unitElder et al 2002 [75]Migrant educationMigrants - predominantly MexicanFang 2010 [76]Mother-Daughter - Asian-AmericanAsian-American adolescent girls - second generation from socioeconomically advantaged backgroundsFlay 2004 [77]Aban AyaPredominantly African-American schools, high risk sampleFreudenberg 2010 [78]REAL MENMale participants recruited in prisonsFriedman 2002 [79]Botvin LST and Anti-ViolenceInner-city, low SES, court adjudicated males convicted of at least one offenceGersick 1988 [80]GersickPublic schools from predominantly working and lower -middle class townsGilchrist et al 1987 [81]Skills enchancement progAmerican Indian youthGonzales [82]Bridges to High SchoolFamily program targeted to Mexican AmericansGriffin 2009 [83]BRAVEInner city African-American majority…”