Citation

Bierman KL, Cole JD, Dodge KA, Greenberg MT, Lochman JE, McMahon RJ. Am. J. Community Psychol. 1997; 25(4): 493-514.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1997, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Childhood conduct problems are predictive of a number of serious long-term difficulties (e.g., school failure, delinquent behavior, and mental health problems), making the design of effective prevention programs a priority. The Fast Track Program is a demonstration project currently underway in four demographically diverse areas of the United States, testing the feasibility and effectiveness of a comprehensive, multicomponent prevention program targeting children at risk for conduct disorders. This paper describes some lessons learned about the implementation of this program in a rural area. Although there are many areas of commonality in terms of program needs, program design, and implementation issues in rural and urban sites, rural areas differ from urban areas along the dimensions of geographical dispersion and regionalism, and community stability and insularity. Rural programs must cover a broad geographical area and must be sensitive to the multiple, small and regional communities that constitute their service area. Small schools, homogeneous populations, traditional values, limited recreational, educational and mental health services, and politically conservative climates are all more likely to emerge as characteristics of rural rather than urban sites (Sherman, 1992). These characteristics may both pose particular challenges to the implementation of prevention programs in rural areas, as well as offer particular benefits. Three aspects of program implementation are described in detail: (a) community entry and program initiation in rural areas, (b) the adaptation of program components and service delivery to meet the needs of rural families and schools, and (c) issues in administrative organization of a broadly dispersed tricounty rural prevention program.. (Abstract Adapted from Source: American Journal of Community Psychology, 1997. Copyright © 1997 by Springer)

For more information on FAST Track, a Blueprints for Violence Prevention Promising Program, see VioPro record number 307.

At Risk Juvenile
At Risk Youth
At Risk Child
Rural Youth
Rural School
Rural Environment
Program Implementation
Promising Program Reference
Prevention Program
Child Problem Behavior
Child Behavior
Behavior Prevention
Juvenile Behavior
Juvenile Problem Behavior
Program Implementation
Pennsylvania
Child Development
Juvenile Development
School Based
Family Based
Elementary School Student
Junior High School Student
Senior High School Student
Early Adolescence
Late Adolescence
Late Childhood
Middle Childhood
Blueprints Promising Reference
07-00