Prevention Research Center Research

Implementing evidence-based preventive interventions is difficult for school districts to plan for, implement, evaluate, and sustain. As a result, a tiered system of training and technical assistance (T/TA) is often beneficial for districts when attempting to implement evidence-based preventive interventions with fidelity and for long-term sustainability. To address this need, the CSU Prevention Research Center serves as a prevention support system and has developed “light touch” online research-to-practice tools (Tier I T/TA) and workshops (Tier II T/TA) for networks of prevention practitioners, including school districts. This project will develop and deliver “heavier touch” Tier III T/TA to two regional networks of school districts seeking support for building capacity and infrastructure to implement and sustain evidence-based, school-based, preventive interventions. This T/TA will be delivered through a one-day prevention training with two two-hour learning communities delivered to each regional network of school districts. The first goal of this project is to develop the training and learning communities. Goal 2 is to implement the training and learning communities. We will then use trainee feedback to revise and improve the training and learning communities for future delivery. 

The PRC is working with Larimer County Health and Environment to leverage a portion of the County’s opioid abatement funds to scale up school-based substance use prevention. Poudre, Thompson, and Estes Park School Districts are collaborating with our team to support educators, behavioral health staff, and students to build capacity to implement evidence-based prevention programs. The project’s three goals include district-wide scans of current prevention efforts, developing and providing professional development, and implementing multiple cohorts of the evidence-based prevention program: Blues Program, which is shown to decrease student substance use and mental health challenges including depression.

Marijuana eCHECKUP TO GO a web-based cannabis use intervention for heavy cannabis using college students. The intervention provides university-specific personalized feedback with normative information and protective behavioral strategies for reducing heavy use.

Preliminary findings demonstrate that participating in the Marijuana eCHECKUP TO GO program was associated with reduced cannabis use and that the program worked in different ways for males and females. A second trial is currently being implemented with partners from two Canadian universities, the University of Victoria and St. Francis Xavier University.

The Weed Study is a text-based intervention to reduce cannabis use among emerging adults with cannabis use disorder. In this intervention, participants receive several individualized texts per day to help them reduce cannabis use.

This study is a five-year, multi-site project with the University of Tennessee, funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Among the interesting questions that this project will be able to test is whether intervention effects from a cannabis misuse intervention differ between a state with legalized adult retail use (i.e., Colorado) and a state without legalized adult retail use (i.e., Tennessee).

This four-year project is a collaboration with the Colorado Department of Education to support school climate transformation in Colorado.

The project aims to develop an integrated behavioral health framework (inclusive of existing models of behavioral health implemented in the state; e.g., PBIS, MTSS, SEL, WSCC, etc.) with CDE and 10 funded districts, guided by best practices in creating a supportive school climate. Second, the project establishes high quality training and technical assistance provided by CDE to school/districts in using the integrated behavioral health framework and scaling up efforts across the state.

Asdigian, N.L., Riggs, N. R., Valverde, P. A., & Crane, L. A. (in press). Reducing youth vaping: A pilot test of the ‘Youth Engaged Strategies for Changing Adolescent Norms!’ (YES-CAN!) Program. Health Promotion Practice. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35678642/

Coatsworth, J. D., Radford, A., Rayburn, S., Zaharakis, N., Wallis, D., Brown, A., Hale, C., Riggs, N. R., Russell, M. A., Mennis, J., Mason, M .J. (in press). Peer network counseling text for reducing frequent cannabis use among young adults: Protocol for a randomized controlled trial across two states.  

Fidler, D. J., Van Deusen, K., Pinks, M. E., Walsh, M., Hepburn, S., Riggs, N. R., Daunhauer, L. & Graham, J. (2022). Career and technical education opportunities for adults with intellectual disability. International Review of Research on Developmental Disabilities, 63, 103-129. 

Wallis, D., Coatsworth, J. D., Mennis, J., Riggs, N. R., Zaharakis, N., Russell, M. A., Brown, A. R., Rayburn, S., Radford, A., Hale, C., & Mason, M. J. (2022). Predicting self-medication with cannabis in young adults with hazardous cannabis use. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19, 1850. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19031850  

Fetterling, T., Prince, M., Conner, B., George, M., Shillington, A., & Riggs, N. R. (2021). Moderated mediation of the Marijuana eCHECKUP TO GO college student marijuana use intervention. Substance Use and Misuse, 56, 1508-1515. doi.org/10.1080/10826084.2021.1937225 

Jones, T. M., Williford, A., Spencer, M., Riggs, N. R., Toll, R., George, M., Becker, K., & Bruick, S. (2021). School mental health providers’ perspectives on the impact of COVID-19 on racial inequities and school disengagement. Children in Schools, 43, 97-106. https://doi.org/10.1093/cs/cdab009 

Prince, M. A., *Tyskiewicz, A., J., Conner, B. T., Parnes, J. E., George, M. W., Shillington, A. M., & Riggs, N. R. (2021). Mechanisms of change in an adapted Marijuana e-CHECKUP TO GO intervention on decreased college student cannabis use. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 124, 108308. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsat.2021.108308 

Trentacosta, C. & Riggs, N. R. (2020). Executive function in context. Introduction to the Special Issue on Executive Function in Context, Infant and Child Development, 29, e2174. https://doi.org/10.1002/icd.2174 

Wallace, G., Parnes, J., Prince, M. A., Conner, B. T., Riggs, N. R., George, M., & Shillington, A. (2020). Associations between marijuana use patterns and recreational legislation changes in a large Colorado college student sample. Addiction Research and Theory, 28, 211-221. https://doi.org/10.1080/16066359.2019.1622003 

Antenien, A., Conner, B. T., Fredrickson, G., Riggs, N. R., Jurica, J., & Neighbors, C. (2019). Tailgating protective behavioral strategies mediate the effects of positive alcohol outcome expectancies on game day drinking. Journal of Primary Prevention, 40, 357-365. https://www.DOI.org/10.1007/s10935-019-00548-1  

Riggs, N. R. & Greenberg, M. T. (2019). Mindful awareness: can a neuro-developmentally timed approach prevent youth substance use. Journal of Primary Prevention, 40, 593-403. https://www.DOI.org/10.1007/s10935-019-00563-2  

Yoon, Y., Lee, J. O., Cho, J., Bello, M.S., Khoddam, R., Riggs, N. R., & Leventhal, A. M. (2019). Association of  cyberbullying involvement with subsequent substance use among adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Health, 65, 613-620. https://www.doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2019.05.006   

Cho, J., Goldenson, N. I., Stone, M. D., McConnel, R. S. Barrington-Trimis, J. L., Chou, C-P., Sussman, S. Y., Riggs, N. R., & Leventhal, A. M. (2018). Characterizing poly-tobacco use trajectories and their associations with substance use and mental health across mid-adolescence. Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 20, S31-S38. https://www.DOI.org/10.1093/ntr/ntx270  

Riggs, N. R., Conner, B. T., *Parnes, J. E., Prince, M. A., Shillington, A., & George, M. W. (2018). Marijuana e-CHECKUP TO GO: Effects of a personalized normative feedback intervention for college student heavy marijuana use. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 190, 13-19. https://www.doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2018.05.020  

Williams, C. K., Strickland, A. L., Riggs, N. R., Dyett, A., Gibson, Z., & Pulskamp, A. D. (2018). Colorado Healthy Schools Smart Source: An example of school-based research, policy, and practice. School Mental Health, 10, 163-172. https://www.DOI.org/10.1007/s12310-018-9247-6  

We’re working with a team of experts to develop a new executive function intervention for young children with Down syndrome. ‘Executive function’ skills are the thinking skills we use for problem-solving and planning. We will develop a new set of activities for parents and their preschool-aged children to play together and then test the effects of these activities in a pilot implementation. Stay tuned for more information about how to get involved!

Fidler, D. J., Cohen, A., Jackson-Cook, C., Rosser, T., Ebensen, A., & Riggs, N. R. (in press). Outreach and engagement efforts in research on Down syndrome: An NIH Working Group consensus statement. International Review of Research on Developmental Disabilities. 

Fidler, D. J., Van Deusen, K., Pinks, M. E., Walsh, M., Hepburn, S., Riggs, N. R., Daunhauer, L. & Graham, J. (in press). Career and technical education opportunities for adults with intellectual disability. International Review of Research on Developmental Disabilities. 

Riggs, N. R., Pinks, M. E., Hepburn, S., & Fidler, D. J. (2022). A prevention science approach to promoting health and quality of life for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Infant and Child Development, 31, e2278, doi.org/10.1002/icd.2278 

Riggs, N. R., Hepburn, S., & Pinks, M. (2021). Applying a prevention science framework to promoting health of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. International Review of Research on Developmental Disabilities, 61, 1-37.  https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.irrdd.2021.06.001 

Riggs, N. R., Rigles, B., Schworer, E., & Fidler, D. J. (2020). Community-based participatory approaches to intellectual and developmental disabilities research. International Review of Research on Developmental Disabilities, 58, 157-186. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.irrdd.2020.07.007 

Originally funded by the USDA/NIFA Children Youth and Families At-Risk Sustainable Community Projects and in partnership with the University of Hawaii at Manoa, GRANDcares is a multi-component family-focused intervention for grandfamilies (i.e., grandparents and kin and the children they have primary responsibility for in their homes). We also created several short videos for service providers working with grandparents and grandchildren to assist in increasing their knowledge of the needs and strengths of grandfamilies. Learn more on the GRANDcares website.

Funded by the CCTSI at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, this 9-month pilot development project focuses on building academic-community partnerships between CSU, CSU Extension, and the Logan County Coalition on Aging to create an advisory board and develop a strategic plan addressing healthy aging in northeast rural Colorado. Please stay tuned for more information, as we work closely with the CSU Northeast Regional Engagement Center to uplift healthy aging programs and research.

Fox, A. L., Riggs, N. R., Yancura, L., Sharp, J. L., & Fruhauf, C. A. (in press). Translating discovery science: improving self-efficacy in grandparents raising grandchildren: Results from a strengths-based education intervention. Family Relations. 1-10. doi.org/10.1111/fare.12695 

Fruhauf, C. A., Yancura, L., Greenwood-Junkermeier, H., Riggs, N. R., Fox, A., & Mendoza, N. (in press). Lessons from the field. Community-based participatory research: The important role of university-community partnerships to support grandfamilies. Family Relations. doi.org/10.1111/fare.12672 

Fruhauf, C. A., Mendoza, N., Fox, A., Greenwood-Junkermeier, H., Riggs, N. R., & Yancura, L. (2022). Positive health behavior changes in custodial grandparents and their grandchildren following an intervention. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19, 4027. Doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19074027 

Fruhauf, C., Yancura, L., Greenwood-Junkermeier, H., Riggs, N. R., Mendoza, N. Fox, A. (2020). The importance of family-focused and strengths-based approaches to interventions for grandfamilies. Journal of Family Theory and Review, 12, 478-491. https://doi.org/10.1111/jftr.12395 

CSU Extension’s DARE to be You Bridge Program (DTBY-BP) is an evidence-based prevention program (EBP) originally developed in partnership with the Ute tribe. It involves family-school collaboration to enhance family resilience and parent-youth-teacher relationships, build youth life skills, and reduce risks of substance use. One project goal is to implement DTBY-BP in the five isolated rural county region in Colorado’s Four Corners area with the objective of increasing Native American and Latine youths’ and families’ ability to make healthy choices and build supportive family and school environments with respect to opioid and other substance use. Our team will provide education on prevention best practices to Extension staff across Colorado. This support will involve online educational modules and TA support on prevention science such as implementation fidelity, adaptation, and sustainability.

The Civic Capacity Index measures dynamic processes related to collective leadership, inclusion of diverse voices, and how institutions and coalitions address shared challenges. With the help of the CCI, civic actors can take advantage of existing civic capacity, understand where it is lacking, and build community resilience for the future.

Get access to the Civic Capacity Index here.

Evidence-based prevention programs (EBPs) are rarely adapted to meet the unique strengths and needs of Latinx families. Similarly, approaches to EBP technical assistance (TA) and research-to-practice tools are rarely adapted to address the unique TA needs of Latinx communities, which, in turn, can decrease the likelihood that EBPs will be implemented in Latinx communities with fidelity or sustained over the long term. Familias Fuertes is a Latinx cultural adaptation of the evidence-based Strengthening Families Program 10-14 (SFP 10-14) that enhances family resilience, strengthens parent-youth relationships, builds youth life skills and has been shown to prevent opioid use. The goal of this project is to implement the Familias Fuertes family-focused preventive intervention in six isolated counties in Colorado’s San Luis Valley and to support that implementation with culturally responsive tools and technical assistance related to program implementation, adaptation, evaluation, and sustainability.  

Communities can struggle with the tension between implementing evidence-based prevention programs (EBPs) with strict fidelity versus adapting EBPs to be responsive to communities’ cultural needs. Starting in 2021, the PRC has contracted with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to support Colorado’s SAMHSA Substance Abuse Prevention Block Grantees with training and technical assistance related to the implementation of EBPs with fidelity and best practices for program adaptation. This support has included the development of research-to-practice briefs, workshops, web-based video tutorials, and on-demand office hours. Many of these tools are available on the PRC’s Implementation Toolbox webpage for all communities to benefit from. 

Since 2018, funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the PRC has collaborated with rural communities through Extension across Colorado to address opioid use. Through a multi-prong approach and multiple iterations of this work, the PRC has: 

1. trained community professionals to implement evidence-based prevention; 

1. supported communities in implementing the Strengthening Families 10-14 or Familias Fuertes programs, which engage youth and their families to help them build parenting, substance refusal and family strengthening skills; 

1. used media and social media to distribute data-informed messages to raise public awareness about the danger of using opioids like heroin and oxycodone and to help youth develop correct perceptions about substance use; 

1. established the PROSPER framework to Colorado – a system proven to support high quality implementation and sustainability of behavioral health-focused prevention programs in communities and schools; and, 

1. provided technical assistance and resources that resonate with local practitioners and build capacity related to program implementation, adaptation, evaluation, and sustainability. 

This four-year project is a collaboration with the Colorado Department of Education to support school climate transformation in Colorado.

The project aims to develop an integrated behavioral health framework (inclusive of existing models of behavioral health implemented in the state; e.g., PBIS, MTSS, SEL, WSCC, etc.) with CDE and 10 funded districts, guided by best practices in creating a supportive school climate. Second, the project establishes high quality training and technical assistance provided by CDE to school/districts in using the integrated behavioral health framework and scaling up efforts across the state.

The Prevention Research Center is a statewide evaluator for the Family Leadership Training Institute, which currently has programs at 15 sites, all affiliated with CSU Extension. The work is supported by contracts with the Colorado Attorney General’s office, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, and with funds from CSU’s Office of Engagement.

During the fall semester of 2015, Grit Digital Health partnered with Colorado State University to conduct a mixed method pilot study of the feasibility and acceptability of a web-based interactive portal, named YOU. It was designed to help students gain greater self-awareness about their personal strengths and overall emotional health, and to connect students to campus resources in a timely, confidential, and user-friendly way. The design of the study provided approximately 1500 select CSU students with open access to use of the portal for approximately eight weeks during the Fall 2015 semester. All students who had access to the portal were invited to complete a brief survey about their experiences using the portal. Just over 200 students completed the online survey.

In addition, three focus groups were held to gather additional feedback and student opinions about the YOU portal. 91% of students reported being satisfied with the YOU portal and 86% of students felt the YOU portal was useful for them. A majority of students felt the YOU portal was engaging and easy to understand, liked the format, and thought the site was easy to navigate.

Funder: Contract with Grit Digital Health
Center Theme: Healthy Lifestyles
Lead Investigators: Doug Coatsworth, HDFS, and Melissa George, HDFS

Carroll, J., Christensen, K., MacPhee, D., & Schmitt, P. (2018). Bringing family voice to determinants of health. Journal of Extension, 56(3), Article 331AW1.

Chrislip, D., MacPhee, D., & Schmitt, P. (2020, November). Civic capacity building in COVID-19 recovery planning in rural America. Rural Connections, 17-20. https://www.usu.edu/wrdc/files/news-publications/Schmitt-RC-FA-WIN-2020.pdf  

MacPhee, D., Prendergast, S., Christensen, K., Schmitt, P., & Carroll, J. (2020). Impact of a two-generation family leadership program on civic engagement and positive youth development. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology.  

 Mendoza, A. N., Fruhauf, C. A., & MacPhee, D. (2020). Grandparent caregivers’ resilience: Stress, social support, and coping predict life satisfaction. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 91, 3-20. https://doi.org/10.1177/0091415019843459 

Prendergast, S., & MacPhee, D. (2018). Parental contributors to children’s persistence and school readiness. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 46(4), 31-44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2018.05.005  

Prendergast, S., & MacPhee, D. (2020). Trajectories of maternal aggression: Associations with parenting stress, family resources, and neighborhood cohesion. Child Abuse & Neglect, 99. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2019.104315  

 Prendergast, S., & MacPhee, D. (2021). Risk assessments at birth predict kindergarten achievement and involvement with Child Protective Services. Prevention Science, 22, 432–442. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-020-01185-5  

Rattenborg, K., MacPhee, D., Walker, A. K., & Miller-Heyl, J.  (2019). Pathways to parent engagement: Understanding the contributions of parents, teachers, and schools in cultural context. Early Education and Development, 30(3), 315-336. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2018.1526577  

Rayburn, S. R., Coatsworth, J. D., & MacPhee, D. (2021). Becoming Fathers: A mixed-methods study of the feasibility and acceptability of a mindfulness-based group intervention for perinatal fathers. Journal of Child and Family Studies. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-021-02105-z  

Williams, C. K., Strickland, A. L., Riggs, N. R., Dyett, A., Gibson, Z., & Pulskamp, A. D. (2018). Colorado Healthy Schools Smart Source: An example of school-based research, policy, and practice. School Mental Health, 10, 163-172.  https://doi.org/10.1007/s12310-018-9247-6  

In a five-year project funded by Children, Youth, and Families at Risk PRC faculty are implementing a dual-capacity building approach to family engagement in Longmont and Sheridan communities in Colorado.

The purpose of this project is to better understand the perspectives and needs of Extension agents providing services to farmers who are at risk for mental health problems and suicide. The project will also align current efforts within the State to most effectively meet those needs.

In early phases, P2S Colorado is an innovative application of the PROSPER model across Colorado with enhancements to support behavioral health. PROSPER is a scientifically-proven delivery system built on community partnership, embedded in a state’s Extension System to support county-based prevention activities through proactive technical assistance, best prevention practice, and ongoing implementation quality and sustainability of particular evidence-based prevention programs.  This work is being implemented in extension communities in Colorado and supports community implementation of an effective family-based prevention program (Strengthening Families Program for Parents and Youth 10-14) and a school-based prevention program (Lifeskills Training).

PROSPER Overview Flyer

The IDEAS collaborative project was a multi-institutional (primarily local universities), applied research collaborative funded by the Colorado Health Foundation to provide data, research, and evaluation supports for a statewide system supporting comprehensive school health in Colorado.

Visit the Advancing IDEAS webpage for more information. 

This nine-month contract with the Colorado Department of Human Services Office of Child Maltreatment Prevention was to write a white paper on using a dual-capacity building approach to effect systems changes to prevent child maltreatment and promote school readiness. CDHE plans to use the white paper to guide their funding priorities and initiatives.

Equipt focused on behavioral health integration in primary care through a partnership between Colorado Kaiser Permanente, Equipt, LLC/the Neurodevelopment Center of Colorado, and the PRC.  A pilot study across two clinics examined an innovative approach to addressing Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in primary care using Equipt digital behavior therapy software. The study was designed to provide information regarding the feasibility and acceptability of the Equipt digital behavior support tool as well as evidence of potential for efficacy of the tool in supporting families of children with ADHD diagnosed in pediatric care.  This pilot study was used to continue partnership and further testing of the Equipt digital behavior support tool for helping families in different service delivery contexts.

The MSFP study examined the efficacy of an adapted version of the Strengthening Families Program for Parents and Youth 10-14. The Mindfulness-enhanced Strengthening Families Program 10-14 blended mindfulness activities for parents into the original SFP 10-14 program. The study recruited 432 families from three communities in central Pennsylvania and randomly assigned them to one of three conditions: A) MSFP, B) SFP 10-14, C) Home study control condition. Results showed MSFP was as effective as SFP 10-14 in improving multiple dimensions of parenting, including interpersonal mindfulness in parenting, parent-youth relationship quality, youth behavior management, and parent well-being, according to both parent and youth reports at both post-intervention and one-year follow-up. This study also found that in some areas MSFP boosted and better sustained the effects of SFP 10-14, especially for fathers.