Session: How Social Setting Characteristics Moderate Prevention Approaches and Effects (Society for Prevention Research 21st Annual Meeting)

The overall goal of this symposium is to discuss several interventions implemented in and adapted to different contexts that underscore the importance of understanding local contexts and social settings in order to produce positive impacts.  The symposium supports the conference themes of Development and testing of interventions and Common pathways to and impact on disease prevention and health promotion, and brings together researchers from a diverse set of organizations and disciplines.

The first poster, “A Third-Generation Family-Centered Alcohol and Drug Prevention Program for Indigenous Families and Children,” describes differences in findings for a culturally specific, family intervention designed to reduce alcohol and other drug use among American Indian early adolescents. The presenters will describe how these program adaptations have resulted in high levels of community ownership, family attendance, and graduation rates.

The second poster, “Contextual Effects on a Community Intervention to Prevent Suicide and Alcohol Abuse Risk with Yup’ik Alaska Native Youth,” discusses findings of an intervention for youth implemented in two rural Yup’ik communities. The presenters describe how the two communities responded to crises differently and blended cultural activities with existing youth activities to varying degrees.

The third poster, “Treatment Heterogeneity as a Function of School Socio-emotional Climate in a Cluster-Randomized Trial in the Democratic Republic of Congo,” examines treatment heterogeneity as a function of schools’ socio-emotional climate. The presenters describe findings from an intervention trial that trains Congolese teachers in new curricula integrating math and reading lessons with socio-emotional learning principles and practices.

The fourth poster, “Moderating Effects of School Climate on Outcomes for a Universal Violence Prevention Program,” analyzes how school climate influence student intervention outcomes. Findings from a large violence prevention trial suggest that differential impacts occurred for students participating in the intervention in schools with conducive climate versus those in schools with distressed climate.

The fifth poster, “School Climate and Student Approval of Nonviolent Problem-solving Strategies” focuses on the qualitative follow-up of a universal social cognitive violence prevention intervention and suggests that students may have perceived strategies taught in the intervention to be ineffective, resulting in reluctance to employ them.  Effects varied by school climate variables and grade level.

Each presenter will present for 6-8 minutes, leaving time for questions and active engagement of audience members. It is expected that the diversity of contexts and methodological approaches (e.g., qualitative and quantitative) presenters discuss will be attractive to SPR meeting participants.