An Evaluation of Ombudsman Primary Prevention Program on Student Drug Abuse

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Abstract
This study is designed to measure the outcome of a drug prevention program entitled Ombudsman. Currently, this program is being disseminated nationwide via the National Diffusion Network (NDN) since its approval as a national model by the U.S. Department of Education. In its replication in Charlotte during fall semester 1979, the Ombudsman program (OP) was offered to students in grades 5–9. One-hundred thirteen students were in the treatment group which had three different subgroups. Seventy-two students were in the control group. Utilizing the “high-risk” Student Attitudinal Inventory (SAI), the following results were obtained: 1. at the conclusion of the OP, a significantly larger proportion of students in the treatment group had favorable attitudes toward their regular school teachers than those in the control group; 2. a significantly larger proportion of students in the treatment group reported more favorable attitudes toward the Ombudsman instructors than did either the treatment or control groups with regard to their own classroom teachers; 3. the OP was more effective among students whose regular classroom teachers have had Ombudsman training than those whose teachers did not have such training; and 4. the OP was more effective among elementary than junior high school students.