Effectiveness of the Logan Square Prevention Project: Interim Results

Abstract

SUMMARY Even though substance abuse prevention programs have been studied for more than two decades, outcome studies of programs focused on inner-city youth are rare. Communities with dense populations, low socio-economic conditions and a high degree of neighborhood disorganization are especially vulnerable to high rates of adolescent substance abuse. The goal of this study was to organize a coalition of neighborhood agencies to provide a comprehensive array of school and community-based prevention services to reduce substance use and gang involvement among inner-city Latino youth. An institutional cycles quasi-experimental design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of this project. Participants were 651 pretest cohort students and 667 posttest cohort students attending grades 5–8 in two Chicago elementary schools. The cohorts were from 75–79 percent Latino and from 16–18 percent African American. Interim results supporting project goals showed that gang involvement was significantly lower among the po...