DRS is a drug abuse prevention project that incorporates resistance and life skills, norms, beliefs and attitudes, as well as planning, goal setting, and decision making. The project has moved through a number of phases, including a successful pilot study at the high school level and a successful multicultural implementation in the middle schools of Phoenix. Preliminary reports demonstrate 8-month-desired effects on 8th grade alcohol and tobacco use and 14-month desired effects on alcohol and marijuana use. This DRS-Next Generation study examines additional intervention elements that may account for program effectiveness of the DRS drug abuse prevention program. It further examines when and with whom the intervention was successful as well as the mechanisms for success. Following an ecological risk and resiliency perspective the research design integrates into the inquiry the social context in which prevention efforts took place. The proposed research questions examine how client, implementer, curriculum content and curriculum delivery impact program effectiveness. The research design includes mediational and process analyses. Results from this research will inform future replicability of the DRS approach and advance existing knowledge about culturally-grounded drug abuse prevention intervention.
