Guiding Good Choices (GGC)
BPP07
1999 (Updated 08/2006)
PDF Version of Fact Sheet
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Program Overview:
Guiding Good Choices (GGC), formerly Preparing for the Drug-Free Years (PDFY), is a family competency training program (part of the Families That Care series) that promotes healthy, protective parent-child interactions and reduces children’s risk for early substance use initiation. It is based on the social development model, which theorizes that enhancing protective factors such as effective parenting practices will decrease the likelihood that children will engage in problem behaviors. While most sessions are focused on improving parenting skills and parents’ self efficacy, the program also provides students with peer pressure refusal skills and has demonstrated reductions in children’s alcohol initiation.
Program Targets:
The program has been successfully implemented with families of middle school children who resided in rural, economically stressed neighborhoods in the Midwest.
Program Content:
GGC is a weekly, five-session multimedia program that strengthens parents’ child-rearing techniques, parent-child bonding, and children’s peer resistance skills. Children are required to attend one session, which focuses on peer pressure. The other four sessions involve only parents, and include instruction in the following areas:
- Identifying risk factors for adolescent substance use and creating strategies to enhance the family’s protective processes.
- Developing effective parenting skills, particularly those regarding substance use issues. Such techniques include creating clear guidelines regarding substance use, monitoring compliance with these guidelines, and providing effective and appropriate consequences when necessary.
- Managing anger and family conflict.
- Providing opportunities for positive child involvement in family activities.
Program Outcomes:
Evaluations of GGC have demonstrated positive effects for intervention parents and children. Compared to members of a control group, GGC parents have shown:
- Improvement in general child management skills, for mothers and fathers;
- Increases in parent-child affective quality; and
- Higher ratings of mothers’ self-efficacy.
Compared to members of a control group, GGC children have demonstrated:
- Significantly less alcohol initiation, and
- Positive trends in reducing tobacco and marijuana use.
References
Kosterman, R., Hawkins, J.D., Spoth, R., Haggerty, K., & Zhu, K. (1997). Effects of a Preventive Parent Training Intervention on Observed Family Interactions: Proximal Outcomes from Preparing for the Drug Free Years. Journal of Community Psychology, 25(3), 277-292.
Park, J., Kosterman, R., Hawkins, J.D., Haggerty, K.P., Duncan, T.E., Duncan, S.C., & Spoth, R. (2000, September). Effects of the "Preparing for the Drug Free Years" Curriculum on Growth in Alcohol Use and Risk for Alcohol Use in Early Adolescence. Prevention Science, 1(3), 125-138.
Spoth, R., Reyes, M.L., Redmond, C., & Shin, C. (1999, October). Assessing a Public Health Approach to Delay Onset and Progression of Adolescent Substance Use: Latent Transition and Log-Linear Analyses of Longitudinal Family Preventive Intervention Outcomes. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 67(5), 619-630.
Contact GGC
GUIDING GOOD CHOICES (GGC) |
| Formerly Preparing for the Drug-Free Years (PDFY) |
| For information about materials and training, contact: |
| Channing Bete Company One Community Place South Deerfield, MA 01373-0200 Phone: (800) 477-4776 Fax: (800) 499-6464 Email: custsvcs@channing-bete.com Website: www.channing-bete.com/prevention-programs/guiding-good-choices |
| For information about program research, contact: |
| J. David Hawkins, Ph.D. University of Washington Social Development Research Group 9275 3rd Avenue NE, Suite 401 Seattle, WA 98115 Phone: (206) 685-1997 Fax: (206) 543-4507 Email: sdrg@u.washington.edu Website: depts.washington.edu/sdrg |
