SBIR-STTR Award

The proposed methodology adapts the Associative Group Analysis (AGA) technique to individual level measurement. AGA has demonstrated a unique capability to assess the deeper, psychological dispositions and motivation which underlie human behavior. AGA has been successfully used to study such sensitive issues as attitudes toward substance abuse, political perceptions, cultural stereotypes, and attitudinal changes associated with experience and training. The AGA technique will be harnessed to address the interests of private and governmental education, prevention and counseling programs to ensure that the resulting measurement instrument will be useful as well as marketable.

Thesaurus Terms:
Drugs Abuse, Drugs Addiction Prevention, Education Programs (Systems) Evaluation-Planning, Education, Health Education, Drugs Abuse Education (Non-Alcoholic), Information Gathering Methods Evaluation-Standards, Psychometrics Age (Human), Adult, Young (21 To 44 Yrs), Children, Adolescence (12 To 21 Yrs), Psychology Social, Social Perception, Psychology, Attitudes (And Related), Psychology, Behavior Prediction, Psychology, Motivation, Social Groups, Ethnic, American Indians, Social Groups, Ethnic, Americans, Black Americans, Social Groups, Ethnic, Americans, Hispanics, Sociology And Anthropology, Culture, Socioeconomics Human, Non-Clinical National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

This project will develop and test an assessment instrument capable of accurately and reliably measuring the effectiveness of drug abuse education and prevention programs to decrease susceptibility to and increase resistance to substance abuse. The assessment instrument, based on an adapted use of the Associative Group Analysis (AGA) method, will focus on psychosocial dispositions broadly recognized as affecting substance abuse. The instrument will be designed for assessing teens and young adults. The research will develop and test analytic procedures to serve the objectives of both individual and group-based diagnosis. Phase I findings showed AGA's high level of analytic sensitivity in differentiating drug abusers and nonusers in such dimensions as self-reliance, social nexus, and other psychosocial dispositions reflecting susceptibility to drug use.In Phase II investigations, additional dimensions of susceptibility will be examined(Task 1). Along the main dimensions identified, alternative diagnostic instruments will be developed and tested for their potential to identify and measure changes in susceptibility to substance abuse(Task 2). The multidimensional assessment instrument will be tested for its effectiveness and utility to measure the impact of select education and prevention programs(Task 3).

Anticipated Results:
In exploring marketing opportunities, individuals representing a host of schools and prevention programs expressed an interest in participating in this project, This may be seen as a clear indication of the need to assess the effectiveness of the numerous competing substance abuse education and prevention programs and methods.

Thesaurus Terms:
Drugs Abuse, Drugs Addiction Prevention, Education Programs (Systems) Evaluation-Planning, Education, Health Education, Drugs Abuse Education (Non-Alcoholic), Psychometrics Age (Human), Adult, Young (21 To 44 Yrs), Children, Adolescence (12 To 21 Yrs), Information Gathering Methods Evaluation-Standards, Psychology Social, Interpersonal Relations, Friendship, Psychology Social, Social Perception, Psychology, Attitudes (And Related), Psychology, Behavior Prediction, Psychology, Motivation, Social Groups, Ethnic, American Indians, Social Groups, Ethnic, Americans, Black Americans, Social Groups, Ethnic, Americans, Hispanics, Sociology And Anthropology, Culture, Socioeconomics Human, Clinical National Institute On Drug Abuse (NIDA)