Preventing aggressive behavior and drug use in elementary school: Six family-oriented programs

For many youths, aggressive behavior and drug use have roots in conduct problems that begin in early childhood. Many preventive interventions-universal, selective, and indicated-are based on this finding. These programs are designed to interrupt developmental trajectories that lead to delinquency, drug abuse, and other serious social problems. A number of prevention programs have been developed and tested in public schools. Surprisingly, although family risk factors loom large in the etiology of conduct problems, few school-based programs have involved families. This study reviews six family-oriented, school-based programs that have produced promising findings in rigorous evaluations. The purpose of this paper is to describe these programs and distill from them core family-oriented prevention strategies for use in public school settings. Based on our review, these include: (a) strengthening the skills of both children and parents; (b) creating opportunities for parents and teachers to communicate more readily; (c) promoting bonds of attachment between children and parents and between parents and teachers; and (d) involving teachers in training on managing classroom disruptions, understanding peer dynamics, and promoting positive learning environments in their classrooms.