Benefits and challenges of engaging young people in alcohol prevention research and evaluation

For the past four years, the Truth on Youth (TOY) youth researchers, a diverse team of youth attending high schools throughout Butte County, California, have partnered with adults from the Butte County Department of Behavioral Health (BCDBH) and the Youth Leadership Institute (YLI) to evaluate alcohol environmental prevention projects in their community. Youth researchers have administered surveys and conducted participant observations, focus groups, and interviews, and have also analyzed their data and presented their findings and recommendations to drive yearly program improvement cycles.

This presentation will focus on the impact of participating in evaluation on the youth researchers, as well as benefits and challenges this youth-adult partnership has had for the BCDBH. Data from pre-post surveys measuring youth researchers' skills, knowledge, and attitudes related to conducting action research will be provided. In addition, youth researchers' experience of five youth development standards of practice (safe environment, opportunities for involvement and connection to community and school, opportunities for leadership and advocacy, opportunities to build skills, and caring and meaningful relationships with adults and other youth), as measured by YLI's Youth Development Survey, will be presented.

Finally, changes to the BCDBH's programs and services that have resulted from the work of the youth researchers will be delineated, and challenges of this work, from the perspective of youth and adults in the BCDBH, will be described.