KIDS CARE - BUILDING RESILIENCE IN CHILDRENS ENVIRONMENTS

The study presents KIDS CARE, a promotive strategy to reduce youth alcohol and drug abuse through enhancing decision-making skills, self-esteem and group bonding. The program targets children grades K-6, as well as school staff, parents and interested community members. Also reported here is initial program evaluation data for the focal third grade module. Four 'intervention' classrooms (actively participating in KIDS CARE retreats) and two control classrooms (not involved in KIDS CARE) received pre- and post-evaluations of self-esteem and sociometric instruments. Teachers also selectively sampled high risk and non-risk students and rated them on a self-esteem measure. Data analysis confirms the use of the teacher nomination procedure as an appropriate means of differentiating high risk and non-risk students, and suggests that following the intervention, there was a significant increase in positive peer group inclusion of previously socially rejected high risk students.