MPP is a comprehensive school- and community-based drug abuse prevention program designed to reduce and prevent tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana use by young adolescents and, secondarily, by their parents and other community residents. To reach its goals, MPP targets individual-, situational-, and environmental-level factors related to elevated levels of drug use, including prior drug use, perceived norms for use, peer pressure, and, conversely, social support for non-use, and mass media communications about prevention. The program uses five modalities, introduced in sequence, for the delivery of the drug prevention message: school, mass media, parents, community organizations, and health policy change. MPP is first introduced in the schools, where students are most easily reached. The underlying premise is that the more channels used in disseminating a prevention message, the greater the likelihood that positive behaviors will be adopted. Skills that are initially learned in the school program are then reinforced by a consistent community norm against drug use. Also, working with the local community gives the school a larger pool of prevention activities and resources upon which to draw. The program components focus on promoting drug use resistance skills by adolescents; prevention practices and support of teen prevention practices by parents and other adults; and promotion and support of non-drug use community norms. MPP integrates both demand and supply reduction strategies by combining prevention programming with school and community policy change. MPP is one of ten interventions selected by the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence for inclusion among its "Blueprints" programs. It is also highlighted in the 1998 Annual Report on School Safety.

Target Population

- Grade Level: from  Sixth grade to  Eleventh grade