MODELS FOR PRACTICE
FOCUS
AREA: SUBSTANCE ABUSE
Program Name: Project Northland
Location:
Healthy People 2010 Objective: 26
Web Address: http://hazelden.org
Project Northland is a program that effectively addresses
the problem of alcohol use by youth and has also been successful in reducing
tobacco and marijuana use. While the program is now implemented throughout the
Blueprint:
Project Northland is a substance abuse program that is initiated in sixth grade
and follows students through eighth grade. These grades were selected because
these are the grades of first use of substances of abuse. Each curriculum year
has a theme and is tailored toward the developmental level of the adolescents.
In sixth grade, students learn reasons not to use alcohol. In seventh grade,
students learn strategies to deal with peer pressure. Finally, in eighth grade,
the focus shifts from individual and peer pressure to community-level changes.
A critical element of the program’s success is the use of peer leaders and
involvement of parents and the community. Successful replication of the model
is achieved through student involvement during sixth through eighth grade,
teacher training, and use of peer leaders.
Making a Difference: The original study was designed to follow 2,400 students from sixth
through eighth grade to determine the impact of the program, if any, on
alcohol-use patterns, as well as tobacco and marijuana use. After three years
of study, it was found that students participating in the program were
significantly less likely to be users of alcohol, marijuana, and tobacco at the
end of eighth grade compared to the control group. At the end of the eighth
grade, students participating in the study exhibited a 28 percent reduction in
monthly drinking, a 46 percent reduction in weekly drinking, and a 27 percent
reduction in alcohol and tobacco use compared to the control group. For those
students who were non-users at the initiation of the study (in sixth grade),
the results revealed a 37 percent lower rate of cigarette smoking and a 50
percent lower rate of marijuana use at the end of eighth grade compared to the
control group.
Beginnings: The project was initially developed by
the University of Minnesota School of Public Health under a grant from the
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. The research-based program
was designed to address individual behavioral change and environmental change.
The specific goals are to delay the onset of drinking, reduce alcohol use by
current users, and limit alcohol-related problems of youth.
While the majority of the students
were Caucasian (94 percent), American-Indian students comprised 5.5 percent of
the study’s participants (seven American-Indian reservations are in the study
area). The study was conducted in this six-county, extremely rural area of
northeastern Minnesota because it had the highest alcohol-related morbidity and
mortality in the state, with one county being number one in the state.
Challenges and Solutions: Project
Northland is a research-based program designed to be replicated in other school
districts. Interested schools have turned to State Incentive Grants (SIG) and
Project Northland has received numerous awards
including identification by the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) as
a Model Program, recommendation by the U.S. Department of Education, and an “A”
rating in Making the Grade: A Guide to
School Drug Prevention Programs (published by Drug Strategies). It also was
published in the Journal of School Health
(1994, 1996), and American Journal of Public
Health (1996).
Beginning fall 2002, the program will expand to
address substance abuse among high school students.
Kay
Provine, Senior Training Specialist
Project
Northland, Hazelden Information and Educational Services
15251
Pleasant