The PROSPER project (PROmoting School-community-university Partnerships to Enhance Resilience) is an evidence-based system for the prevention of youth substance abuse and problem behavior and for the scale-up and sustainability of universal evidence-based interventions for adolescents. PROSPER brings together schools, families, communities, and universities in partnerships that use a positive approach to strengthen families and help young people avoid risky behavior.
PROSPER began in 2001 as a NIDA-funded research project in partnership with Iowa State University. The original PROSPER grant ran for five years and examined the youth and family outcomes associated with the PROSPER model. The study included 28 communities and nearly 11,000 youth, who were followed longitudinally from grade 6 into their young adult years. Early results indicated that youth in the 14 communities implementing PROSPER programs showed significantly lower rates of substance use and problem behavior and higher rates of family strengths than youth in non-PROSPER communities.
PROSPER research was re-funded by NIDA in 2007 and again in 2012. Data collection and analysis on the long-term impacts of PROSPER on youth development is ongoing, with positive PROSPER impacts still detectable in young adulthood.
In addition, PROSPER was adopted as an outreach activity of Penn State University under the auspices of the Extension System, which supports both the Team Leaders and the Prevention Coordinators. PROSPER has expanded to include 15 communities throughout Pennsylvania and is funded by a wide variety of sources, including local, state, and federal grants, community fundraising, and partnerships with human service organizations.
Duration: 2001 - 2019
Project Focus Area
Implementing and Evaluating Evidence-Based Programs
Developmental Period(s) Studied
Adolescence
Levels of Analysis
Individuals, Schools, Community Coalitions
Keywords
substance use, universal prevention
The PROSPER project (PROmoting School-community-university Partnerships to Enhance Resilience) is an evidence-based system for the prevention of youth substance abuse and problem behavior and for the scale-up and sustainability of universal evidence-based interventions for adolescents. PROSPER brings together schools, families, communities, and universities in partnerships that use a positive approach to strengthen families and help young people avoid risky behavior.
PROSPER began in 2001 as a NIDA-funded research project in partnership with Iowa State University. The original PROSPER grant ran for five years and examined the youth and family outcomes associated with the PROSPER model. The study included 28 communities and nearly 11,000 youth, who were followed longitudinally from grade 6 into their young adult years. Early results indicated that youth in the 14 communities implementing PROSPER programs showed significantly lower rates of substance use and problem behavior and higher rates of family strengths than youth in non-PROSPER communities.
PROSPER research was re-funded by NIDA in 2007 and again in 2012. Data collection and analysis on the long-term impacts of PROSPER on youth development is ongoing, with positive PROSPER impacts still detectable in young adulthood.
In addition, PROSPER was adopted as an outreach activity of Penn State University under the auspices of the Extension System, which supports both the Team Leaders and the Prevention Coordinators. PROSPER has expanded to include 15 communities throughout Pennsylvania and is funded by a wide variety of sources, including local, state, and federal grants, community fundraising, and partnerships with human service organizations.
Project Focus Area
Implementing and Evaluating Evidence-Based Programs
Developmental Period(s) Studied
Adolescence
Levels of Analysis
Individuals, Schools, Community Coalitions
Keywords
substance use, universal prevention
Duration
2001 - 2019
Project Team
Mark E. Feinberg (PI) Research Professor
Mark T. Greenberg Emeritus Bennett Chair of Prevention Research and Founding Director, Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center
Janet Welsh Research Professor
Daniel F. Perkins Professor of Family and Youth Resiliency and Policy; Principal Scientist and Founder, Clearinghouse for Military Family Readiness
Meg Small Director for Social Innovation
Elaine Berrena Prevention Educator
Claudia Mincemoyer Professor Emerita of Agricultural and Extension Education and Prior Director, Penn State Better Kid Care Program
Related Publications
- Going the distance: Technical assistance to community prevention coalitions and its impact on prevention coalitions over time
Chilenski, S. M., Welsh, J. A., Perkins, D. F., & Hoffman, L. (2020). Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research. Advance online publication.
- Nurturant-involved parenting and adolescent substance use: Examining an internalizing pathway through adolescent social anxiety symptoms and substance refusal efficacy
Weymouth, B. B., Fosco, G. M., & Feinberg, M. E. (2017). Development and Psychopathology, 7, 1-14. PMID:29212564
- PROSPER delivery of universal preventive interventions with young adolescents: Long-term effects on emerging adult substance misuse and associated risk behaviors
Spoth, R., Redmond, C., Shin, C., Greenberg, M. T., Feinberg, M. E., & Trudeau, L. (2017). Psychological Medicine, 47(13), 2246-2259. PMID:28399955
- Risk factors for substance misuse and adolescents’ symptoms of depression
Siennick, S. E., Widdowson, A. E., Woessner, M. K., Feinberg, M. E., & Spoth, R. L. (2017). Journal of Adolescent Health, 60(1), 50-56. PMCID: PMC5182119
- Extending previous cGxI findings on 5-HTTLPR's moderation of intervention effects on adolescent substance misuse initiation
Schlomer, G. L., Cleveland, H. H., Feinberg, M. E., Wolf, Pedro S. A., Greenberg, M. T., Spoth, R. L., Redmond, C., Tricou, E. P., & Vandenbergh, D. J. (2017). Child Development, 88(6), 2001-2012.
- PROSPER intervention effects on adolescents’ alcohol misuse vary by GABRA2 genotype and age
Russell, M., Schlomer, G. L., Cleveland, H. H., Vandenbergh, D. J., Feinberg, M. E., Greenberg, M. T., Spoth, R., & Redmond, C. (2017). Prevention Science, 19(1), 1-11. PMCID: PMC5552492
- Transactions between substance use intervention, the oxytocin receptor (OXTR) gene, and peer substance use predicting youth alcohol use
Cleveland, H. H., Griffin, A. M., Wolf, P. A., Vandenbergh, D. J., Feinberg, M. E., Schlomer, G. L., Greenberg, M., Spoth, R., & Redmond, C. (2017). Prevention Science, 19(1), 1-12. PMCID: PMC5696096
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