Date of Award
2003
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Programs for Higher Education
Advisor
Kim Fatata-Hall
Committee Member
Barbara Packer
Keywords
academic achievement, academic skills, adolescents, alcohol use, anger management, at-risk behaviors, community collaboration, competency skill training, crime, curriculum, decision making, drop-out prevention, emotional management, empathic skills, family problems, frustration, high school students, instruction, interpersonal social skills, job skills, leadership, mental health, mentoring programs, outreach programs, planning skills, policy, problem solving, school management, self-esteem, sexual behavior, substance abuse, teenage pregnancy, truancy, violence
Abstract
The problem addressed in the applied dissertation was that high school teenagers enrolled in prevention programs are not decreasing at-risk behaviors. This problem can be answered by focusing on distinct characteristics of teenagers who are enrolled in the after-school mental health and substance abuse prevention program. The at-risk behaviors demonstrated by the teenagers in the prevention program included substance abuse, crime, violence, poor academics, truancy, mental health issues, inappropriate sexual behavior, and teenage pregnancy.
The primary solutions for prevention programs to combat the causes of alcohol and substance usage in adolescents is to offer life skills such as: emotional management; interpersonal social skills; academic and job skills; the ability to restore self-esteem; planning skills; and problem-solving ability. In order for families, schools, and the community to reduce at-risk behaviors among adolescents, they must collaborate with prevention programs so they can increase awareness; reach adolescents through creative alternative mentoring programs; establish competency skill training; and implement changes in school management, policy, and instruction. Solutions for poor judgment during adolescence, prevention programs should focus on appropriate ways for adolescents to express themselves; develop alternative techniques to release anger and frustration; and develop problem solving and decision-making skills.
An analysis of the data indicated four of the five outcomes were achieved, thereby indicating that high school teenagers are decreasing at–risk behaviors. The data also demonstrated that prevention programs could have a significant impact on student’s at-risk behavior. Exposure to the prevention program increased adolescents’ empathic skills and increased their knowledge of the their behaviors.