SPORT Prevention Plus Wellness-High School Version

Youth ages 14-18 years old

For children/adolescents ages: 14 - 18

SPORT (Substance Prevention Optimizing Resiliency Training) Prevention Plus Wellness High School Version is a brief substance use prevention and health promotion intervention designed to highlight the positive image benefits of an active lifestyle to reduce the use of alcohol, tobacco, and drugs by youth. In addition, it aims to improve their overall physical and mental wellbeing.

Chudley Werch, PhD

• Agency/Affiliation: Prevention Plus Wellness, LLC
• Website: https://preventionpluswellness.com
• Email: cwerch@preventionpluswellness.com
• Phone: (904) 472-5022

The goals of SPORT Prevention Plus Wellness High School Version in relation to the target population are:

• Prevent and reduce alcohol use
• Prevent and reduce nicotine and marijuana use
• Increase physical activity
• Reduce risk factors for substance use
• Increase protective factors for avoiding substance use
• Increase health behavior goal setting
  

The essential components of SPORT Prevention Plus Wellness High School Version include:

• A 45-minute single session screening and brief intervention including:
• Screening youth for their current substance use and healthy behaviors (7-item survey including a 30-day alcohol use question)
• Providing feedback to youth on how substance use harms each of the targeted healthy behaviors using a scripted protocol and PowerPoint slides
• Asking youth to set goals to avoid substance use and increase health-promoting behaviors
• Provide positive images of older adolescents engaged in healthy behaviors within PowerPoint slides shown during the lesson
• Present the benefits of:
• Participating in sports and physical activities
• Regular physical activity
• Friends who influence your physical activity
• Eating a healthy breakfast and foods
• Sleeping 8 or more hours a night
• Pose stop-and-think questions about each of the targeted behaviors to increase youth reflection on future behavioral actions
• Identify how alcohol and drug use harms healthy behaviors and how to achieve desired future images and healthy habits
• Describe:
• How alcohol can harm your fitness and health
• How alcohol can cause life problems
• Alcohol myths
• How most youth do not use alcohol
• How to choose for yourself
• How to plan ahead
• Present recommendations for increasing wellness
• Evaluation materials including:
• Paper and online pretest and posttest youth surveys
• Instructor’s Survey
• Fidelity Checklist

Child/Adolescent Services

SPORT Prevention Plus Wellness-High School Version directly provides services to children and addresses the following:

• Risk of substance use, addiction, and social and health problems including harmed mental health, illness, injury, and premature death

Recommended Intensity

One 45-minute session

Recommended Duration

One session

Delivery Settings

This program is typically conducted in a(n):

• Community-based Agency / Organization / Provider
• Foster / Kinship Care
• Group or Residential Care
• Hospital
• Justice Setting (Juvenile Detention, Jail, Prison, Courtroom, etc.)
• Outpatient Clinic
• Public Child Welfare Agency (Dept. of Social Services, etc.)
• School Setting (Including: Day Care, Day Treatment Programs, etc.)
• Virtual (Online, Smartphone, Zoom, Telephone, Video, etc.)

Homework

Participating youth receive a goal plan with recommendations to continue to monitor daily goal achievement and set weekly goals to avoid alcohol and drug use and increase healthy behaviors.

Languages

SPORT Prevention Plus Wellness-High School Version has materials available in the following languages other than English:

• Spanish

For information on which materials are available in this language, please check on the program's website or contact the program representative (contact information is listed in this page).

Resources Needed to Run Program

The typical resources for implementing the program are:

Something to display the program’s PowerPoint slides.

Prerequisite/Minimum Provider Qualifications

No minimum or prerequisite training or education required

Manual Information

There is a manual that describes how to deliver this program.

Program Manual(s)

Manual details:

• Prevention Plus Wellness, LLC. (2023). SPORT (Alcohol/Drug) substance use prevention promoting healthy lifestyle behaviors – high school adolescents. https://preventionpluswellness.com/products/evidence-based-alcohol-drug-sport-prevention-plus-wellness

Training Information

There is training available for this program.

Training Contact

Training Type/Location:

Online self-paced course, but live online training and onsite training at the trainee’s organization are also available

Number of days/hours:

1-2 hours training for a program implementer and 2 additional hours to be trained as a trainer

Pre-Implementation Materials

There are no pre-implementation materials to measure organizational or provider readiness for SPORT Prevention Plus Wellness-High School Version.

Formal Support for Implementation

Optional formal support via email, phone, or online meetings is available for program implementers. Support includes addressing questions and problems with training, implementing, tailoring, and evaluating the program.

Fidelity Measures

A Fidelity Checklist is provided. It allows the organization to assess the extent to which the SPORT Prevention Plus Wellness program is being implemented with fidelity by adhering to the program model. The Checklist can be obtained from the program contact at the bottom of the page.

Established Psychometrics

There are no established psychometrics for SPORT Prevention Plus Wellness-High School Version.

Fidelity Measures Required

No fidelity measures are required for SPORT Prevention Plus Wellness-High School Version.

Implementation Guides or Manuals

The SPORT Prevention Plus Wellness program manual includes directions for implementing the program as well as scripts to follow to present the program with fidelity to youth both individually and in groups. It can be obtained from the program contact on the bottom of the page.

Implementation Cost

Washington State Institute for Public Policy. (2019). SPORT. https://www.wsipp.wa.gov/BenefitCost/Program/382

Research on How to Implement the Program

Research has not been conducted on how to implement SPORT Prevention Plus Wellness-High School Version.

Child Welfare Outcome: Child/Family Well-Being

• Werch, C., Moore, M. J., DiClemente, C. C., Bledsoe, R., & Jobli, E. (2005). A multihealth behavior intervention integrating physical activity and substance use prevention for adolescents. Prevention Science, 6(3), 213–226. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-005-0012-3

  Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial

  Number of participants: 604

  Population:

  • Age — Mean=15.24 years
  • Race/Ethnicity — 51% Caucasian, 28% Other, and 22% Black/African American
  • Gender — 56% Female
  • Status — Participants were suburban high school students in 9th and 11th grade.

  Location/Institution: Northeast Florida

  Summary:

  The purpose of the study was to test the efficacy of a brief, multi-health behavior intervention integrating physical activity and alcohol use prevention messages for high school-aged adolescents. Participants were randomly assigned within grade levels to receive either a brief consultation and prescription with a mailed reinforcing follow-up flyer (Project SPORT) [now called SPORT Prevention Plus Wellness High School] or a minimal intervention control consisting of a wellness brochure provided in school and a pamphlet about teen health and fitness mailed to the home. Measures utilized include The Youth Alcohol and Health Survey, Youth Risk Behavior Survey, and study developed surveys. Results indicate that Project SPORT participants demonstrated significant positive effects at 3 months postintervention for alcohol consumption, alcohol initiation behaviors, alcohol use risk and protective factors, drug use behaviors, and exercise habits, and at 9-10 months for alcohol use risk and protective factors, cigarette use, and cigarette initiation. A post hoc analysis examining interactions between the past 30-day use of marijuana and/or cigarettes by the treatment group indicates significant positive effects for drug-using adolescents who received Project SPORT on alcohol consumption, drug use behaviors, and drug use initiation at 3 months and for drug use behaviors and exercise habits at 9-10 months. Limitations include lack of generalizability due to an all-suburban sample, and lack of measures of factors mediating cigarette, marijuana use, and exercise habits, thus limiting the understanding of the possible mechanisms for change on these behaviors.
  

  Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: 3 and 9-10 months.

• Blueprints for Healthy Youth Development. (2024). SPORT Prevention Plus Wellness Program. https://www.blueprintsprograms.org/programs/477999999/sport-prevention-plus-wellness/

• Clearinghouse for Military Families Readiness. (2024). SPORT Prevention Plus Wellness (SPORT PPW). Available at this link

  .

• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2019). Appendix 2: Evidence-based prevention programs and policies. In Substance misuse prevention for young adults (pp. 66). https://store.samhsa.gov/product/substance-misuse-prevention-young-adults/pep19-pl-guide-1