Bay Middle School program can prevent derailing of life goals

Bay Middle School Principal Sean McAndrews brought goal-setting strategies, based on personality traits, to his students.

As any parent can tell you, each child is unique. Different gifts, and different weaknesses, seem inherent in our children even from birth. It is up to adults to teach our youngsters how to make the most of their strengths, but to also recognize and adapt for characteristics that might stand in the way of their success.

At Bay Middle School, Principal Sean McAndrews believes middle schools have a rare opportunity to help students recognize their own tendencies that could get in the way of leading successful lives. He has implemented Preventure, a program that surveys students and identifies particular personality traits that psychologists say make us more susceptible to harmful decisions in key, emotional moments.

“We have more influence with kids this age, before they experience the freedoms that come with high school,” he said. “And while it is important to help all kids say no to peer pressure around drug use, alcohol use, bullying or violent behavior, the research is clear that teaching specific strategies and coping skills based on personality traits is far more effective than universal programs.” He said seventh-grade is an ideal time to intervene, before destructive behaviors begin, and then escalate.

Developed by Canadian clinical psychologist and professor Dr. Patricia Conrod, Preventure was implemented and tested in eight randomized trials in England, Australia, the Netherlands and Canada. The studies showed reductions up to 50 percent in binge drinking, frequent drug use and alcohol-related problems, as well as reductions in depression, anxiety attacks and impulsive behavior.

The student survey measures four key traits that correlate with drugs and alcohol use, anxiety or depression. It asks simple questions that deal with a very general view on life. Are you content? Would you like to skydive? Do you get scared when you’re unable to focus on a task? Students who score high on impulsivity, sensation seeking, anxiety sensitivity and negative thinking traits are invited to attend workshops led by program-trained teachers that cover self-management skills. For Bay Middle School, the personality trait scale was validated by Case Western Reserve University, which also handles the coded data analysis. Confidentiality is a priority.

McAndrews is quick to point out that while Preventure identifies certain personality traits, it does not label or profile a child. “We ask students to think about their goals, like going to college, or playing football in high school. We show them how certain patterns of thoughts and behaviors can keep them from achieving those goals.” He notes that individual results are not part of the student file.

While individuals are not tracked, the full class will take the Youth Risk Behavior Survey in their sophomore year at Bay High School. That survey monitors Cuyahoga County high school student behaviors bi-annually. It is conducted by Case Western Reserve University and was developed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). McAndrews expects that the results of that survey will show a reduced rate of alcohol and drug use, as well as other risky behaviors, for this Class of 2024.

“We held a community meeting a couple years ago where I shared how I had attended 15 funerals for former students over the prior 16 years,” he said. “Young lives snuffed out from overdose and suicide. Parents who’d lost children shared their grief, and the statistics on deaths from opioid overdose and suicide in our county were just mind boggling.”

One parent who presented, Amy Fritz, later passed along a New York Times article about Preventure. McAndrews and former Bay High principal Jim Cahoon visited the first U.S. school, located in Maine, to introduce the program. Both educators were impressed with the results researchers documented as well as the school’s experience. Since then, other U.S. schools have adopted the program, as has a prosecutor’s diversion program in Athens, Ohio.

McAndrews has a good feeling about Preventure. Informal follow-up sessions are showing him that kids responded positively and would even like to continue meeting. “I am really hopeful that this targeted intervention will not just help students reach their goals,” he said, “but that it really will save lives.”

Karen Derby

Director of Communications for the Bay Village City School District

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Volume 11, Issue 2, Posted 10:04 AM, 01.22.2019