About Us

Youth-Led PY/PM Evaluation:

The youth-led evaluation study is funded by the Criminal Justice Division of the Texas Governor’s Office to evaluate the effectiveness of PY/PM when taught by high school students in the Peer Assistance and Leadership (PAL) program (peer leaders). Selected peer leaders who are trained and supervised by their teacher teach the lessons to elementary students. The youth-led evaluation is currently in its fifth year.

Results have shown that the youth-led model of implementation has a positive effect on the elementary students who receive the curriculum and the high school students who teach it. The youth-led approach has also increased the number of elementary students who receive the PY/PM curriculum. In the 2003-2004 school year, 496 peer leaders taught in 387 classrooms to 8,204 elementary students.

Elementary students who received PY/PM:

• Improved their vehicle safety skills (knowing how to protect themselves when they have no option but to ride with an impaired driver).
• Became more media literate (understanding how television and other commercials can slant the truth or not tell the whole story).
• Increased their knowledge of the brain (knowing when the brain is fully developed and how alcohol affects the developing brain).

Note: Average Post-test scores. Scores ranged from 1 to 4 with 4 being the desired response

High school peer leaders who taught PY/PM:

• Increased their knowledge of the risks associated with high levels of alcohol use
• Gained knowledge related to the effects of alcohol use
• Gained valuable teaching skills

Note: Average Post-test scores. Scores ranged from 1 to 4 with 4 being the desired response

When compared to high school peer leaders who did not teach PY/PM, high school peer leaders who did teach PY/PM had lower rates of:

• Alcohol use
• Binge drinking *significant at the .05 level
• Riding with an impaired driver
• Driving after drinking

Note: Average Post-test scores. Scores ranged from 1 to 4 with 4 being the desired response

For links to published evaluation studies on the Youth-Led implementation model of Protecting You/Protecting Me click here.