"The idea of the student organization you started at Bucknell is one that inspires me."
Jessica Livingston
Drexel University student
 
"I conducted an evaluation of the program in June. Given the fact that eight months had passed, I didn't expect too much. However, the students were still raving about the motivation you provided. Isn't that wonderful!"
Cheryl Campbell
Nova Scotia, CANADA

Evidence for Natural Highs

Many funding sources ask me, "what proof do you have that your program works?" Here are some answers to that question:

1) A number of schools and conference have done follow up surveys of my program. Chatham High School (NJ) has a particularly good system for gathering post-program data. They use an online form that students fill out anonymously. It is a cost effective and fast. I am told that the responses to my presentation were excellent. If you would like more information, please e-mail me at matt@mattbellace.com.

2) The only controlled research that examined the impact of my presentation on high school students was done as part of a larger program evaluation for the 2000-2002 Teen Institute of the Garden State Leadership Conferences. The evaluation found that there was a significant reduction in alcohol and marijuana use three months after the conference. However, there are two major problems with this study. First, my presentation was one of twelve presentations that week, so it is hard to determine the impact my program had in comparison with the others. The other problem is that I analyzed the data! Yes, I helped supervise the study prior to the completion of my PhD. Click here to see a summary of the findings.

3) In my opinion, the best answer is to refer people to the published articles that support alternative social activities for students as a means to reduce substance abuse. I say this because the ideal outcome of my presentation is when students (or staff) decide to create a student group dedicated to putting on substance-free activities -preferably at night- as a true alternative to the party scene. When there are enjoyable alternative activities available to students, there is a reduction in substance use. My presentation is all about motivating students to start such a program. This step cannot be ignored as it is one of the most important. Here are some research articles that looked at alternative activities:

Article #1

Article #2

Article #3

There are few natural highs better than realizing a dream!  Doug Bratton, a long-time friend recently decided to become a full-time cartoonist.  Now he gets to spend his days using his art talents to make us laugh. Here is a caracature of me that Doug drew recently. Check out more of his work at www.popculturecomics.com.

List of Natural Highs
Natural Highs Research