Appendix B: Abbreviations and Glossary

Abbreviations

Glossary

Assignment--the process by which researchers place study subjects in an intervention, control, or comparison group. Experimental design studies randomly assign study subjects to both intervention and control conditions. Quasi-experimental studies nonrandomly assign study subjects to intervention and comparison conditions. Random assignment increases the likelihood that the intervention and control groups are equal or comparable and have similar characteristics. See comparison group and control group.

Attrition--an unplanned reduction in the size of the study sample due to participants dropping out of the evaluation, such as due to relocation.

Behavioral Factors--certain patterns of conduct increase the likelihood of youth using tobacco. Most prominent of these are behaviors that lead to the perception of tobacco use as functional or appropriate. See environmental factors, personal factors, and sociodemographic factors.

Bias--the extent to which a measurement, sampling, or analytic method systematically underestimates or overestimates the true value of an attribute. In general, biases are sources of systematic errors that arise from faulty designs, poor data collection procedures, or inadequate analyses. These errors diminish the likelihood that observed outcomes are attributable to the intervention.

Cluster--subsets of prevention approaches. See prevention approach.

Community--a group of individuals who share cultural and social experiences within a common geographic or political jurisdiction.

Community-Based Approach--a prevention approach that focuses on the problems or needs of an entire community, including large cities, small towns, schools, worksites, and public places. See individual-centered approach.

Community Readiness--the degree of support for or resistance to identifying substance use and abuse as significant social problems in the community. Stages of community readiness for prevention provide an appropriate framework for understanding prevention readiness at the community or State level. See community tolerance, confirmation/expansion, denial, initiation, institutionalization, preparation, preplanning, professionalization, and vague awareness.

Community Tolerance--is present when community norms actively encourage problematic behavior, which is viewed as socially acceptable. See community readiness.

Comparison Group--in quasi-experimental evaluation design, a group of evaluation participants that is not exposed to the intervention. This term usually implies that participants are not randomly assigned, but have characteristics similar to the intervention group. See quasi-experimental design.

Conceptual Framework--in this guideline, the philosophical basis for a prevention approach. Specifically, the assumed reasons or hypotheses that explain why the interventions in a specific prevention approach should work.

Confirmation/Expansion--the stage in which existing prevention programs are viewed as effective and authorities support expansion or improvement of the efforts. Data are routinely collected at this stage, and there is a clear understanding of the local problem and the risk factors for the problem. New programs are being planned to reach other community members at this stage. See community readiness.

Construct--an attribute, usually unobservable, such as educational attainment or socioeconomic status that is represented by an observable measure.

Control Group--in experimental evaluation design, a group of participants that is essentially similar to the intervention group but is not exposed to the intervention. Participants are designated to be part of either a control or intervention group through random assignment. See experimental design.

Conventional Primary Prevention--substance abuse prevention approaches that focus on deterring initial use. See conventional secondary prevention.

Conventional Secondary Prevention--psychology-based substance abuse prevention approaches that encourage people to stop. See conventional primary prevention.

Correlational Analysis--a form of relational analysis that assesses the strength and direction of association between variables.

Cross-Sectional Design--a research design that involves the collection of data on a sample of the population at a single point in time. When exposure and health status data are collected, measures of associations between them are easily computed. However, because health status and exposure are measured simultaneously, inferences cannot be made that the exposure causes the health status.

Data Analysis--the process of examining systematically collected information.

Denial--the stage in which the behavior is not usually approved of according to community norms. At this stage, people are aware that the behavior is a problem but believe that nothing needs to or can be done about the behavior at a local level. See community readiness.

Design--often referred to as research or study design, is an outline or plan of the procedures to be followed in scientific experimentation in order to reach valid conclusions. See experimental design, nonexperimental design, quasi-experimental design.

Environmental Factors--those that are external or are perceived to be external to an individual but that may nonetheless affect his or her behavior. A number of these factors are related to the individual's family of origin, while others have to do with social norms and expectations. See behavioral factors, personal factors, and sociodemographic factors.

Experimental Design--a research design that includes random selection of study subjects, an intervention and a control group, random assignment to the groups, and measurements of both groups. Measurements are typically conducted prior to and always after the intervention. The results obtained from these studies typically yield the most interpretable, definitive, and defensible evidence of effectiveness.

External Validity--the extent to which outcomes and findings apply (or can be generalized) to persons, objects, settings, or times other than those that were the subject of the study. See validity.

Focus Group--a qualitative research method consisting of a structured discussion among a small group of people with shared characteristics. Focus groups are designed to identify perceptions and opinions about a specific issue. They can be used to elicit feedback from target group subjects about prevention strategies.

Fugitive Literature--articles or materials of a scientific or academic nature that are typically unpublished, informally published, or not readily available to the scientific community, such as internal reports and unpublished manuscripts. In this guideline, some practice cases are considered fugitive literature.

Incidence--the number of new cases of a disease or occurrences of an event in a particular period of time, usually expressed as a rate with the number of cases as the numerator and the population at risk as the denominator. Incidence rates are often presented in standard terms, such as the number of new cases per 100,000 population.

Individual-Centered Approach--a prevention approach that focuses on the problems and needs of the individual. See community-based approach.

Initiation--the stage in which a prevention program is under way but is still "on trial." Community members often have great enthusiasm for the effort at this stage because obstacles have not yet been encountered. See community readiness.

Institutionalization--occurs when several programs are supported by local or State governments with established (but not permanent) funding. Although the program is accepted as a routine and valuable practice at this stage, there is little perceived need for change or expansion of the effort. See community readiness.

Instrument--a device that assists evaluators in collecting data in an organized fashion, such as a standardized survey or interview protocol.

Intended Measurable Outcomes--in this guideline, the overall expected consequences and results of the interventions within each prevention approach.

Intermediate Outcome--an intervention outcome, such as changes in knowledge, attitudes, or beliefs that occurs prior to and is assumed to be necessary for changes in an ultimate or long-term outcome, such as prevention of or decreases in substance use and substance-related problems.

Internal Validity--the ability to make inferences about whether the relationship between variables is causal in nature and, if it is, the direction of causality.

Intervention--a manipulation applied to a group in order to change behavior. In substance abuse prevention, interventions at the individual or environmental level may be used to prevent or lower the rate of substance abuse or substance abuse-related problems.

Lessons Learned--in this guideline, conclusions that can be reached about a specific prevention approach which are based on the research and practice evidence reviewed to evaluate the prevention approach.

Maturation Effects--changes in outcomes that are attributable to participants' growing older, wiser, stronger, more experienced, and the like, solely through the passage of time.

Mean--the arithmetic average of a set of numeric values.

Methodology--a procedure for collecting data. See instrument.

Multicomponent Programs--a prevention approach that simultaneously uses multiple interventions that target one or more substance abuse problems. Programs that involve coordinated multiple interventions are likely to be more effective in achieving the desired goals than single-component programs and programs that involve multiple but uncoordinated interventions. See single-component programs.

Multivariate--an experimental design or correlational analysis consisting of many dependent variables. See variable.

Nonexperimental Design--a type of research design that does not include random assignment or a control group. With such research designs, several factors prevent the attribution of an observed effect to the intervention.

Outcome Evaluation--analyses which focus research questions on assessing the effects of interventions on intended outcomes. See process evaluation.

Personal Factors--the cognitive processes, values, personality constructs, and sense of psychological well-being inherent to the individual and through which societal and environmental influences are filtered. See behavioral factors, environmental factors, and sociodemographic factors.

Practice Evidence--in this guideline, information gained from prevention practice cases, generally compiled in the form of case studies, which often include process evaluation information on program implementation and procedures. See research evidence.

Pre-Post Tests--in research design, the collection of measurements before and after an intervention to assess its effects.

Preparation--the stage in which plans are being made to prevent the problem, leadership is active, funding is being solicited, and program pilot testing may be occurring. See community readiness.

Preplanning--the stage in which there is a clear recognition that a problem with the behavior exists locally and that something should be done about it. At this stage, general information on the problem is available and local leaders needed to advance change are identifiable, but no real planning has occurred. See community readiness.

Prevalence--the number of all new and old cases of a disease or occurrences of an event during a particular period of time, usually expressed as a rate with the number of cases or events as the numerator and the population at risk as the denominator. Prevalence rates are often presented in standard terms, such as the number of cases per 100,000 population.

Prevention Approach--in this guideline, a group of substance abuse prevention activities that broadly share common methods and strategies, assumptions (theories or hypotheses), goals, and/or outcomes. See cluster.

Probability Sampling--a method for drawing a sample from a population such that all possible samples have a known and specified probability of being drawn.

Process Evaluation--an assessment designed to document and explain the dynamics of a new or continuing prevention program. Broadly, a process evaluation describes what happened as a program was started, implemented, and completed. A process evaluation is by definition descriptive and ongoing. It may be used to the degree to which prevention program procedures were conducted according to a written program plan. See outcome evaluation.

Professionalization--the stage in which detailed information has been gathered about the prevalence, risk factors, and etiology of the local problem. At this point, various programs designed to reach general and specific target audiences are under way. Highly trained staff run the program and community support and involvement are strong. Also at this stage, effective evaluation is conducted to assess and modify programs. See community readiness.

Program Evaluation--The application of scientific research methods to assess program concepts, implementation, and effectiveness. See outcome evaluation, process evaluation.

Protective Factor--an influence that inhibits, reduces, or buffers the probability of drug use, abuse, or a transition to a higher level of involvement with drugs. See risk factor.

Qualitative Data--generally constitute contextual information in evaluation studies and usually describe participants and interventions. Often presented as text, the strength of qualitative data is its ability to illuminate evaluation findings derived from quantitative methods. See quantitative data.

Quantitative Data--in evaluation studies, measures that capture changes in targeted outcomes (e.g., substance use) and intervening variables (e.g., attitudes toward use). The strength of quantitative data is its use in testing hypotheses and determining the strength and direction of effects. See qualitative data.

Quasi-Experimental Design--a research design that includes intervention and comparison groups and measurements of both groups, but assignment to the intervention and comparison conditions is not done on a random basis. With such research designs, attribution of an observed effect to the intervention is less certain than with experimental designs.

Questionnaire--research instrument that consists of written questions, each with a limited set of possible responses.

Random Assignment--the process through which members of a pool of eligible study participants are assigned to either the intervention group or a control group on a random basis, such as through the use of a table of random numbers.

Reliability--the extent to which a measurement process produces similar results on repeated observations of the same condition or event.

Representative Sample--a segment of a larger body or population that mirrors in composition the characteristics of the larger body or population.

Research--the systematic effort to discover or confirm facts by scientific methods of observation and experimentation.

Research Evidence--in this guideline, information obtained from research studies conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of an intervention and typically published in peer-reviewed journals. The basis of this information is investigations whose designs range from experimental to quasi-experimental to nonexperimental. See practice evidence.

Risk Factor--an individual attribute, individual characteristic, situational condition, or environmental context that increases the likelihood of drug use or abuse or a transition in level of involvement with drugs. See protective factor.

Sample--a segment of a larger body or population.

Simple Random Sample--in experimental research designs, a sample derived from indiscriminate selection from a pool of eligible participants, such that each member of the population has an equal chance of being selected for the sample. See stratified random sample.

Single-Component Programs--a prevention approach using a single intervention or strategy to target one or more problems. See multicomponent programs.

Sociodemographic Factors--sociodemographic factors that affect an adolescent's risk for initiating tobacco use have an indirect but powerful influence due to the limitations of the political, social, economic, and educational systems of society. See behavioral factors, environmental factors, and personal factors.

Statistical Significance--refers to the strength of a particular relationship between variables. A relationship is said to be statistically significant when it occurs so frequently in the data that the relationship's existence is probably not attributable to chance.

Stratified Random Sample--in experimental research designs, a sample group derived from indiscriminate selection from different subsegments of a pool of eligible participants (e.g., men and women). See simple random sample.

Threats to Internal Validity--the factors other than the intervention that evaluators must consider when a program evaluation is conducted, regardless of the rigor of the evaluation design, that might account for or influence the outcome. They diminish the likelihood that an observed outcome is attributable to the intervention.

Time-Series Design--a research design that involves an intervention group evaluated at least once prior to the intervention and is retested more than once after the intervention. A time-series analysis involves the examination of fluctuations in the rates of a condition over a long period in relation to the rise and fall of a possible causative agent.

Tobacco Control--the term used to describe the range of efforts employed to regulate tobacco products.

Tobacco Use--the use of cigarettes and/or smokeless tobacco.

Vague Awareness--the stage in which there is a general feeling that the behavior is a local problem that requires attention. However, knowledge about the extent of the problem is sparse, there is little motivation to take action to prevent it, and there is a lack of leadership to address it. See community readiness.

Validity--the ability of an instrument to measure what it purports to measure.

Variable--a factor or characteristic of the intervention, participant, and/or the context that may influence or be related to the possibility of achieving intermediate and long-term outcomes.

NOTE: This glossary is based partially on work performed by Westover Consultants, Silver Spring, MD, and the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, Bethesda, MD, under other contracts with the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention.