School-Based Prevention Programs for Children and Adolescents

Book excerpt: Fueled by demands for reform of social and educational programs and pressured for solutions to increasing social problems among youths, social policy experts have turned to the promising effectiveness of school-based prevention programs. School-Based Prevention Programs for Children and Adolescents reviews and evaluates the design and impact of such programs, pointing out in particular those exemplary prevention efforts that have worked and thus advance knowledge in the prevention field. In addition to tracing the development of basic theories and practice, the author discusses the factors that assist or hinder program implementation and offers specific examples to illustrate how effective programs can be modified to work. He also focuses on understanding the school as an integral social and organizational structure and its special role in prevention programs. This volume covers a broad range of prevention programs - including prevention of behavioral, social, and academic problems as well as education in substance abuse and health - and looks to model school-based prevention programs as a step toward future prevention efforts.