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Prevention Needs Assessment Survey
Click Here to View the SURVEY
In
spring 2009, MVPS sponsored the Prevention Needs Assessment Survey in all
schools in which we provide programming. Students in grades 6 through 12
were surveyed from the following schools:
Adirondack Central School – Boonville, Oneida County
Beaver River Central School – Beaver Falls, Lewis County
Copenhagen Central School – Copenhagen, Lewis County
Harrisville Central School – Harrisville, Lewis County
Lowville Academy and Central School – Lowville, Lewis County
South
Lewis Central School – Turin, Lewis County
The
survey was designed to assess adolescent substance use, anti-social
behavior, and the risk and protective factors that predict these adolescent
problem behaviors.
Mountain View Prevention Services uses the results from this survey to
prioritize areas of greatest need in our community. We are required by the
NYS Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) to sponsor a
prevention needs assessment survey every two to three years. Based on the
results, we, as a licensed prevention provider, plan our activities and
programs for the following year and submit this to OASAS for approval each
September.
This
prevention needs assessment survey also measures risk and protective factors
in each community. The risk and protective factor Model of Prevention is
based on the simple premise that to prevent a problem from happening, we
need to identify the factors that increase the risk of that problem
developing and then find ways to reduce the risks. Risk factors are
characteristics of school, community, and family environments, as well as
characteristics of students and their peer groups that are known to predict
increased likelihood of drug use, delinquency, school dropout, teen
pregnancy, and violent behavior among youth.
Protective factors exert a positive influence or buffer against the negative
influence of risk, thus reducing the likelihood that adolescents will engage
in problem behaviors.
Risk
and protective factors are measured in four distinct domains which include:
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Comunity
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Family
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School
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Peer-Individual
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The
survey report was compiled by Bach Harrison, L.L.C., Survey Research &
Evaluation Services, Salt Lake City, Utah.
Common Survey Questions
Who developed the prevention needs assessment?
The
original instrument was developed by social researchers over a three year
period with six states by the Social Development Research Group at the
University of Washington with funding from the Federal Center for Substance
Abuse Prevention. It is approved for use by the Drug Free Communities
Support Program of the federal government. It is currently administered by
Bach Harrison, LLC, of Salt Lake City, Utah.
What is the purpose of the prevention needs assessment survey?
Bach
Harrison designed the survey to gather information needed to plan prevention
and intervention programs to combat such problems as alcohol, tobacco, other
drug use, and antisocial behaviors in our schools and communities. It helps
schools, districts, counties, and the community, judge the effectiveness of
current efforts and plan new and continuing prevention programs.
Is
the survey valid and reliable?
Yes,
the survey has proven valid and reliable through rigorous testing. The
survey measures what it says it will measure (validity) and has a high
estimated reliability in the degree to which it measures the same way each
time it is used under the same condition with the same subjects
(consistency). It has been valid and reliable with students in grades 6
through 12.
How was the survey administered?
The
survey is administered by school officials in a classroom setting. Mountain
View Prevention Services (MVPS) staff met with the school superintendent and
other school personnel prior to the administration to review guidelines and
instructions from the research firm for survey coordinators and proctors.
How was the data controlled to prevent manipulation or compromise?
MVPS,
the school districts involved, and the research firm, maintain a strict
“chain of custody” for survey distribution, completion, and return, insuring
the security of the data throughout the administration of the survey. MVPS
and the research firm maintain a strict confidentiality policy, and do not
release district-specific data to any individual or organization. All
requests for district survey data are directed to the district
superintendent.
How does the survey identify exaggerated or dishonest responses?
The
research firm defines a number of indicators that determine whether a survey
is included or eliminated from the data set. These indicators include the
response “not honest at all” to the question about how honest the student
was in responding, and internal inconsistencies between selected questions,
among others. If the respondent fails any one of these indicators, the
survey is eliminated.
Are the results representative of the population surveyed?
The
degree to which the results are representative of the population surveyed
depends upon the number of respondents who took the survey out of the total
number of enrolled students in the population in question. If this figure is
above 60%, the results should be considered representative. District survey
reports indicate the number of respondents, and districts can compare these
figures to enrollment data maintained by the schools.
Why doe the survey ask about substance use in the “past 30 days” rather than
another timeframe?
Research in alcohol and other substance use is based on the standard of use
during the “past 30 days” as this more reliably indicates a pattern of
regular use than other timeframes.
What is Monitoring the Future (MTF) data and why is it included in
the results?
Monitoring the Future
(MTF) is an ongoing study of the behaviors, attitudes, and values of
American secondary school students, college students, and young adults (www.monitoringthe
future.com). Now in its 34th year, results from the survey
provide a national data set with which to compare state or local data. The
most recent data set for alcohol and substance use is from the 2007 MTF
survey.
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Prevention
Education
Intervention
7714 Number Three
Rd
Lowville, NY 13367
Tel: 315-376-2321
Fax: 315-376-2347
mtnviewprev@frontiernet.net
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