What works for reducing risky behaviors? 

This report from the RAND Corporation examines whether being assigned to attend high-performing public charter schools reduces the rates of risky health behaviors among low-income minority adolescents, and whether this is due to better academic performance, peer influence, or other factors. Risky behaviors included alcohol use, drug use, and unprotected sex, while very risky health behaviors included binge drinking, substance use at school, and gang participation. The researchers surveyed 521 ninth- through twelfth-grade students who were offered admission into a high-performing public charter school through a random lottery (intervention group) and 409 students who were not offered admission (control group). The researchers also obtained the students' state standardized test scores. 

Results of the study showed that being assigned to attend a high-performing school led to improved math and English standard test scores, greater school retention, and lower rates of engaging in very risky behaviors, but no difference in risky behaviors. The authors list several factors that may have contributed to these improvements. For example, the school environment may play a role by reducing exposure to "risky" peers but also by improving persistence, resilience, and other noncognitive skills, and simply being in a demanding school may leave less time and opportunity to engage in very risky behaviors.

Johns Hopkins University 

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