Across Ages
Solution types
Mentoring
Problems addressed
Drug abuse
School dropout
Effectiveness

Promising

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Promising

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Life periods served
Children (4 to 13 years)
Teenagers (14 to 17 years)
Where the program was applied
Education establishment
Community (streets or community centers)
Country of application
United States
Description

This is a tutoring program to prevent drug abuse among children between the ages of 11 and 13 who live in situations of high social vulnerability. The tutors are adults aged 55 or older who spend at least four hours per week with the children.
The objective is to increase resilience and protective factors in adolescence through a comprehensive intergenerational approach.

Impact evaluations

An impact evaluation found a significant reduction in school absenteeism and a positive effect on young people’s reactions to situations related to drug abuse, school, the future, and the elderly. However, there was no impact on the frequency of psychoactive substance use or on adolescents’ general well-being [1].
The study had a randomized controlled experimental design and was conducted between 1991 and 1994 with 6th-grade students from three urban schools in Philadelphia and Pennsylvania [1].

Bibliographic reference

[1] LoSciuto, L., Rajala, A. K., Townsend, T. N. & Taylor, A. S. (1996). An Outcome Evaluation of across Ages. Journal of Adolescent Research, 11(1), 116–129. https://doi.org/10.1177/0743554896111007

Information source