Children were selected from each of four geographic sites: Durham, NC; Nashville, TN; rural PA; and Seattle, WA. Elementary schools (n = 55) in neighborhoods with very high rates of crime and economic disadvantage were divided into paired sets (1 to 3 sets per site) matched for demographics, and one set was randomly assigned to intervention and one to control. Children who were randomly assigned to the intervention condition received 10 consecutive years of prevention services (grades 1–10; see CPPRG 1992, 2000 for details). Elementary school programming targeted social, cognitive, emotional, and self-control deficits implicated in aggression toward peers, social rejection, academic failure, and disruptive and oppositional behavior toward authorities. Programming in middle- and high-school years targeted issues known to be salient at critical developmental transitions (e.g., programs in middle school addressing parental supervision and adolescent decision making relevant to alcohol, tobacco, and substance use). Published evaluations of Fast Track have shown intervention-related reductions in externalizing behavior across the elementary, high school, and young adult years (e.g., CPPRG 1992, 1999, 2000, 2011, 2015).
