The long-term effectiveness of a personality-targeted substance use prevention program on aggression from adolescence to early adulthood.

BACKGROUND: Addressing aggressive behavior in adolescence is a key step toward preventing violence and associated social and economic costs in adulthood. This study examined the secondary effects of the personality-targeted substance use preventive program Preventure on aggressive behavior from ages 13 to 20.

METHODS: In total, 339 young people from nine independent schools ( M age = 13.03 years, s.d. = 0.47, range = 12-15) who rated highly on one of the four personality traits associated with increased substance use and other emotional/behavioral symptoms (i.e. impulsivity, anxiety sensitivity, sensation seeking, and negative thinking) were included in the analyses ( n = 145 in Preventure, n = 194 in control). Self-report assessments were administered at baseline and follow-up (6 months, 1, 2, 3, 5.5, and 7 years). Overall aggression and subtypes of aggressive behaviors (proactive, reactive) were examined using multilevel mixed-effects analysis accounting for school-level clustering.

RESULTS: Across the 7-year follow-up period, the average yearly reduction in the frequency of aggressive behaviors ( b = -0.42; 95% confidence interval [CI] -0.64 to -0.20; p < 0.001), reactive aggression ( b = -0.22; 95% CI 0.35 to -0.10; p = 0.001), and proactive aggression ( b = -0.14; 95% CI -0.23 to -0.05; p = 0.002) was greater for the Preventure group compared to the control group.

CONCLUSIONS: The study suggests a brief personality-targeted intervention may have long-term impacts on aggression among young people; however, this interpretation is limited by imbalance of sex ratios between study groups.