NEW AND INNOVATIVE HIP-HOP BASED CURRICULUM IS FIRST TO Empirically DEMONSTRATE POSITIVE EFFECTS ON ADOLESCENT COGNITION AND BEHAVIOR

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The Hip-Hop to Prevent Substance Abuse and HIV (H2P) program curriculum, recently awarded placement on the country’s National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices, was created through the integration of Project SUCCESS (School Using Coordinated Community Efforts to Strengthen Students), a DHHS Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Model Program, and BART (Becoming A Responsible Teen), a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention HIV Prevention Effective Program.  H2P provides: (1) counseling and life skills training, (2) problem identification, (3) peer information dissemination, (4) normative and preventive education, and (5) community connections. The project goals are to reduce substance use and early sexual activity, increase family interactions, and increase participation in constructive recreational activity.  Development of the integrated curriculum was led by P. Thandi Hicks Harper, Ph.D. of the Youth Popular Culture Institute (YPCI), a research, development and production company that focuses on positive youth development and engagement in health and education.  Dr. Hicks Harper’s theory of change and practical application, called Hip-Hop Developmenttm, forms the curriculum’s context and framework.

Results from the 5 year H2P evaluation show the use of Hip-Hop culture’s formal features as having positive effects on middle students’ attitudes, behaviors and increased knowledge in and outside of school environments.  The data show positive effects for SA and HIV preventions housed within a Hip-Hop cultural context.  These results are demonstrated using a research design incorporating the gold standard – i.e. randomized control.

Collaborating Partners

CSAP Grant Recipient - Strategic Community Services, Inc.

Curriculum Development - Youth Popular Culture Institute, Inc.

Evaluation - Adia Research and Evaluation Associates, Inc.