Connect was linked to lower vaping and substance use six months after graduation

This study asked whether the effects of Connect, a substance-use prevention program, persisted after high school among young adults in rural and tribal communities. It followed 410 participants from a cluster-randomized trial involving 20 high schools on or near the Cherokee Nation Reservation and compared outcomes between schools assigned to Connect and control conditions. Participants completed an online survey six months after graduation.

Compared with the control condition, young adults in Connect schools had statistically significantly lower odds of reporting past-30-day alcohol use, binge drinking, cannabis vaping, and nicotine vaping. For cannabis vaping, the reported odds ratio was 0.38 (95% CI 0.17–0.84); this is a relative odds comparison, not an absolute reduction in use. The findings suggest that the program’s effects on substance use continued after high school, but this abstract does not establish the size of any practical benefit or explain which program elements produced it. This is an abstract-based summary; the reported survey outcomes cannot establish longer-term effects beyond the follow-up period.