Translation


Our Center has produced several examples that reflect the translational and synergistic interactions that have been fostered within the Center. Research aimed at preventing drug use has focused primarily on two periods of development, namely, the pre-adolescent period and the adolescent period leading into young adulthood. Our Center has conducted research with individuals during both of these important developmental periods. In the case of early intervention, we evaluated the efficacy of Project Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) in a large sample of elementary school children and found only a limited, short-term change that was not sustained over a 5- or 10-year period. We also evaluated the All Stars character education and problem behavior prevention program delivered to middle school students in two mid-sized Kentucky cities (Lexington and Louisville), and found some evidence that the program decreased the normal developmental trajectory for increased violence among African American and Hispanic students, but found no effects on substance use or sexual activity. In the case of later interventions in young adults, we evaluated the effectiveness of an alcohol risk education program for fraternity and sorority members, and found that the program resulted in decreased positive attitudes toward alcohol.

Beyond the mere evaluation of intervention programs, however, our Center has also been involved in the construction of evidence-based interventions, most notably in the design of anti-drug televised public service announcements (PSAs). Although a recent meta-analysis indicated that a typical effect size for mass media health communication campaigns on behaviors such as drug use tends to be small, from a public health perspective, the wide dissemination of such campaigns translates into a relatively large number of individuals receiving a positive health benefit. For example, in one study associated with our Center, Palmgreen and colleagues designed and evaluated the efficacy of an anti-marijuana televised PSA campaign targeting high sensation seeking adolescents. To produce the PSAs, focus groups of high sensation seeker adolescents were convened to offer opinions about various advertisement storyboards and arguments about the risks of marijuana use. Based on these opinions, 5 different PSAs were produced professionally, each using teenage actors and incorporating features especially appealing to high sensation seekers, such as novelty, fast-paced edits, surprise endings, and strong emotional appeal. To test the efficacy of the PSAs, a study was conducted in two mid-sized U.S. cities (Knoxville TN and Lexington KY) using a 32-month controlled time series design in which a 4 month-long PSA campaign was implemented sequentially in each city. A time-series regression model revealed that marijuana use in the last 30 days measured in home interviews was significantly reduced in high sensation seekers by the PSA campaign. Although there was some wearing off of the effect after termination of the campaign, effects were evident for several months afterwards. Interestingly, no effects were observed for use of other drugs, such as tobacco, alcohol, inhalants or cocaine, indicating that the targeted mass media campaign produced an effect specific to the anti-marijuana content of the message.

In a more recent study associated with CDART, Zimmerman and colleagues applied the lessons learned from the two-city anti-drug PSA work to risky sexual behavior. In that study, a safer sex mass media PSA campaign was targeted to individuals high in reward seeking and low in inhibition. A time-series regression analysis revealed that significant increases in condom use, self-efficacy and behavioral intentions to use condoms were obtained, thus demonstrating that targeted PSAs can be effective interventions for a variety of risky behaviors, including drug use and unprotected sex. These results highlight the importance of targeting PSAs to critical personality traits that confer individual risk.