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The All Stars Core Program

Topic Areas
Scientific Rating
Child Welfare Relevance
Substance Abuse Prevention (Child & Adolescent) Programs
3  — Promising Research Evidence
Medium

About This Program

Target Population: Youth in 6th grade

For children/adolescents ages: 10 – 12

Program Overview

The All Stars Core Program is designed to delay the onset of risky behaviors, including alcohol, tobacco and other drug use, fighting and bullying, and early sexual activity. Each program uses specific strategies which ideally delay the onset of these behaviors with middle school youth. The strategies are:

  • Bonding
  • Parent/adult attention
  • Idealism
  • Normative beliefs
  • Personal commitment

During the middle school years, students negative attitudes about risky behaviors can begin to erode or their positive attitudes about risky behaviors can become more acceptable. The All Stars Core is designed to prevent this attitude erosion and/or correct attitudes, if needed.

All Stars Core is not a knowledge-based or teacher-taught curriculum. The curriculum is designed to be process-oriented, student-driven, and highly engaging. It involves the students in small group activities, games, art projects, and video making. All Stars Core has the students think about themselves, their hopes and dreams for the future, and where they see risky behaviors helping or not helping with their future plans.

Program Goals

The goals of The All Stars Core Program are:

  • Encourage students to explore ideal futures and reputations they want and help them risky behaviors will get in the way of what they want (Idealism)
  • Correct student erroneous beliefs about what is normal and acceptable among their peers when it comes to engaging in risky behaviors (Normative beliefs)
  • Encourage students to make voluntary, personal, and public commitments to not participate in risky behaviors (Personal commitment)
  • Build a sense of belonging and relationship among the students and with the students and a respected adult (Bonding)
  • Empower a parent or another important adult to set a good example, show affection, set and express expectations about risky behaviors, and monitor the students' friends, activities, and whereabouts (Positive parent/adult attention)

Logic Model

The program representative did not provide information about a Logic Model for The All Stars Core Program.

Essential Components

The essential components of The All Stars Core Program include:

  • Focuses on the Student:
    • Student-centered and encourages a high level of student engagement and hands-on learning
    • Process-based (not informational-based) allowing students to make it about and for them
    • Every student needs All Stars Core Student Materials. There are three packages of student materials to choose from (varying in price and contents). All packages include the consumable, copyrighted worksheets required to teach All Stars Core.
  • Involves Parents and Other Important Adults:
    • Invites parents or other important adults into discussions and activities with the student throughout the program.
    • Ends with a Celebration that brings students, parents/other adults, and staff together
  • Uses the All Stars Core Teacher Manual which allows for the following adaptations:
    • Can be used in public or private and urban, suburban, and rural school classroom settings
    • Can be integrated into the health curriculum as it meets the National Health Education Standards
    • Can also be integrated into the counseling and/or family and consumer science curriculum or any area of curriculum where risky behaviors are addressed
    • Can be used in community settings, such as afterschool programs, recreation programs, Boys & Girls Clubs, YMCA or YWCA and so many more
    • Can be taught in a school by the actual classroom teacher or a specialist, such as a guidance counselor, school nurse, or community provider
  • Offers Evaluation Tools:
    • Provides free online quality assessment forms with automated results to measure program fidelity and quality of teaching by teachers
    • Provides online or paper-and-pencil student outcome pretest-posttest surveys with online reports

Program Delivery

Child/Adolescent Services

The All Stars Core Program directly provides services to children/adolescents and addresses the following:

  • Deterioration of hope for the future, incorrect perceptions about how many of their peers engage in risky behaviors and how acceptable it is participate in the behaviors, weakened personal commitments to not engage in risky behaviors, increased conflict between the student and their parent/guardian, strong belief there is no adult who they can talk to about things important to them and their future
Services Involve Family/Support Structures:

This program involves the family or other support systems in the individual's treatment: The All Star Core Program includes opportunities for the student and a respected adult (e.g., parent, foster parent, grandparent, teacher) to have conversations about content the student is creating in the program. For example, students will develop a plan for a reputation they want and a reputation they don’t want. They will speak with their identified adult about these reputations to seek advice on what to do and what not to do to get them. All Stars Core has four such conversations assigned.

Recommended Intensity:

A 45-minute session 1-2 times every week

Recommended Duration:

7-13 weeks (13 sessions) - depending on whether one or two sessions are completed in each week

Delivery Settings

This program is typically conducted in a(n):

  • Community Daily Living Setting
  • Community-based Agency / Organization / Provider
  • School Setting (Including: Day Care, Day Treatment Programs, etc.)

Homework

The All Stars Core Program includes a homework component:

All Stars Core includes opportunities for the student and a respected adult (e.g. parent, foster parent, grandparent, teacher) to have conversations about content the student is creating in the program. For example, in All Stars Core, students will develop a plan for a reputation they want and a reputation they don’t want. They will speak with their identified adult about these reputations to seek advice on what to do and what not to do to get them. All Stars Core has four such conversations assigned.

Languages

The All Stars Core Program has materials available in a language other than English:

Spanish

For information on which materials are available in this language, please check on the program's website or contact the program representative (contact information is listed at the bottom of this page).

Resources Needed to Run Program

The typical resources for implementing the program are:

A private room without distractions, to include tables and chairs in a U-shape, an easel pad and stand, markers, and pencils.

Manuals and Training

Prerequisite/Minimum Provider Qualifications

An adult who knows how to use highly engaging techniques and methods is recommended. An adult whose style is to facilitate more than teach is most needed. Skills that are important for the facilitator, include asking open-ended questions, listening, affirming, and praising. They must enjoy being with middle school youth, have a genuine warm personality, and hold high and positive expectations of youth. These skills and this type of personality is more important than the educational degree the facilitator has.

Manual Information

There is a manual that describes how to deliver this program.

Program Manual(s)

Manual details:

  • All Stars Core Teacher Manual - Version 3 - The manuals include clearly written, step-by-step lesson plans for the program no matter if it is delivered in a community-based or school classroom setting.

Teacher manuals for All Stars Core can be ordered at www.allstarsprevention.com. Preview copies are available for 30 days at no cost. Please contact Anne Page at allstarsprevention1@gmail.com to order a preview copy.

Training Information

There is training available for this program.

Training Contact:
Training Type/Location:

Training for All Stars Core is available online. Onsite, in-person training for groups of 12-25 is available, upon request.

There is no training manual for each program. Rather, there are many handouts and supplemental materials provided during the training, including a detailed print out of all training PowerPoint slides.

Number of days/hours:

All Stars Core online training is 8 hours in length and is available online as five recorded modules.

All Stars Core onsite, in-person training last over 2 days for a total of 11-12 hours.;

The training is the same for providers and supervisors.

Implementation Information

Pre-Implementation Materials

There are no pre-implementation materials to measure organizational or provider readiness for The All Stars Core Program.

Formal Support for Implementation

There is formal support available for implementation of The All Stars Core Program as listed below:

Support is provided to each person/organization who completes formal training for the program. Support includes email/telephone consultation, webinars, live Facebook Q&A sessions, written resources, and a weekly blog.

Fidelity Measures

There are no fidelity measures for The All Stars Core Program.

Implementation Guides or Manuals

There are no implementation guides or manuals for The All Stars Core Program.

Implementation Cost

There have been studies of the costs of implementing The All Stars Core Program which are listed below:

Miller, T., & Hendrie, D. (2008). Substance abuse prevention dollars and cents: A cost-benefit analysis [DHHS Pub. No. (SMA) 07-4298]. Rockville, MD: Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Research on How to Implement the Program

Research has not been conducted on how to implement The All Stars Core Program.

Relevant Published, Peer-Reviewed Research

Child Welfare Outcome: Child/Family Well-Being

Harrington N. G., Giles, S. M., & Hoyle, R. H. (2001). Evaluation of the All Stars character education and problem behavior prevention program: Effects on mediator and outcome variables for middle school students. Health Education & Behavior, 28(5), 533–546. https://doi.org/10.1177/109019810102800502

Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial
Number of Participants: 1,655

Population:

  • Age — 11–13 years (Mean=12 years)
  • Race/Ethnicity — 69% White, 25% African American, and 6% Hispanic
  • Gender — 55% Female
  • Status — Participants were sixth and seventh grade students.

Location/Institution: Fourteen middle schools from the two largest cities in a Midwestern state

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The purpose of the study was to report on the effects of All Stars [now called The All Stars Core Program], a character education and problem behavior prevention program, on variables theorized to mediate problem behaviors and on the problem behavior variables of substance use, sexual behavior, and violence among middle school students. Participants were randomized by school level to either All Stars or to a control condition. Measures utilized include the Adolescent Sexual Activity Index (ASAI) and students were also assessed on measures of alcohol, cigarettes, marijuana, and inhalants. Results indicate that All Stars, when implemented by teachers, had an immediate effect on mediating variables that did not persist over time. Inclusion of ethnicity in the design showed that the program, when implemented by specialists, had delayed effects on mediating variables for African American and Hispanic students. However, no consistent effects were found for student problem behavior in either condition. Limitations include that the program did not succeed under all implementation formats, attrition, and inconsistent attendance data.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: 1 year.

Hansen, W. B., & Dusenbury L. (2004). All Stars Plus: A competence and motivation enhancement approach to prevention. Health Education, 104(6), 371–381. https://doi.org/10.1108/09654280410564141

Type of Study: Pretest–posttest study with a nonequivalent control group (Quasi-experimental)
Number of Participants: 632

Population:

  • Age — 11–14 years (Mean=12 years 4 months)
  • Race/Ethnicity — 53% White, 28% African American, 13% Hispanic, 5% Others, 2% Native American, and 1% Asian
  • Gender — 52% Female
  • Status — Participants were middle school students.

Location/Institution: Two schools in Florence, South Carolina; six schools in the western part of Texas in the US

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The purpose of the study was to conduct an initial test on the effectiveness of All Stars Plus. Participants either received The All Stars Core Program, All Stars Plus, or were assigned to the nontreated control group. Measures utilized include a modified version of the Goal Setting Scale and a study developed student survey that included items to assess behavior, decision making, skills to resist peer pressure resistance, and substance use behavior. Results indicate that both programs outperformed the control group; however, All Stars Plus was more effective in preventing drug use than The All Stars Core Program. All Stars Plus was found to reduce alcohol use, drunkenness, cigarette smoking, marijuana use, and inhalant use. The Plus program appeared to have achieved these outcomes by improving norms, increasing persistence in pursuing goals, and by increasing attention from parents. Limitations include nonrandomization of participants, high attrition, and lack of follow-up.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: None.

McNeal, R. B., Jr., Hansen, W. B., Harrington, N. G., & Giles, S. M. (2004). How All Stars Works: An Examination of Program Effects on Mediating Variables. Health Education & Behavior, 31(2), 165–178. https://doi.org/10.1177/1090198103259852

Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial
Number of Participants: 1,822

Population:

  • Age — 11–13 years (Mean=12 years)
  • Race/Ethnicity — 69% White, 23% African American, and 8% Other Ethnicity
  • Gender — 54% Female
  • Status — Participants were middle school students.

Location/Institution: Fourteen middle schools in Lexington and Louisville, Kentucky.

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The purpose of the study was to conduct an initial test on the effectiveness of All Stars [now called The All Stars Core Program]. Specialist and control schools were randomly assigned to three conditions after stratification based on school size. Five schools received the program delivered by specialists who were “outsiders” to the school, visiting only to deliver the program. Three schools received the program delivered by regular classroom teachers. Six schools served as controls and received treatment as usual. In most cases, treatment as usual was attendance in health education classes taught by teachers . Measures utilized include the Adolescent Sexual Activity Index (ASAI) and students were also assessed on measures of alcohol, cigarettes, marijuana, and inhalants. Results indicate that All Stars achieved reductions in substance use and postponed sexual activity when teachers were successful at altering targeted mediators: normative beliefs, lifestyle incongruence, and manifest commitment to not use drugs. The program was not successful when it was delivered by specialists. At least in part, this failure is attributable to specialists’ inability to change mediators as intended by the program. Limitations include the program did not succeed under all implementation formats and lack of follow-up.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: None.

The following studies were not included in rating The All Stars Core Program on the Scientific Rating Scale...

Hansen W. B. (1996). Pilot test results comparing the All Stars program with seventh grade D.A.R.E.: Program integrity and mediating variable analysis. Substance Use & Misuse, 31(10), 1359–1377. https://doi.org/10.3109/10826089609063981

The purpose of the study was to report on the efficacy of All Stars [now called The All Stars Core Program] capability to be delivered with integrity and its ability to alter the development of characteristics that mediate substance use, violence, and premature sexual activity. Participants were students in 7th grade who completed the All Stars program and students who received the 7th grade D.A.R.E. booster program. Measures utilized include study developed measures that assessed students’ perception of substance uses, violence, sex before marriage and how students felt received at school. Students were also asked several questions about their impression of the All Stars and D.A.R.E program. Results indicate that compared to students who received the 7th grade D.A.R.E program, students who received the All Stars program had significantly better outcomes on each mediator. All Stars students also gave superior ratings to the program and their involvement in it. Limitations include lack of reliable and valid measures, nonrandomization of participants, small sample size, and lack of follow-up. Note: This article was not used in the rating process due to criteria on the Scientific Rating Scale which requires that outcome measures be reliable and valid, and administered consistently and accurately across all subjects.

Additional References

Miller, T., & Hendrie, D. (2008). Substance abuse prevention dollars and cents: A cost-benefit analysis, DHHS Pub. No. (SMA) 07-4298. Rockville, MD: Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Contact Information

Kathleen Nelson-Simley
Agency/Affiliation: KNS Learning Solutions
Website: www.allstarsprevention.com
Email:
Phone: (402) 489-1072

Date Research Evidence Last Reviewed by CEBC: June 2024

Date Program Content Last Reviewed by Program Staff: October 2019

Date Program Originally Loaded onto CEBC: October 2019