Pettigrew, JonathanMiller-Day, MichelleShin, Young JuHecht, Michael L.Krieger, Janice L.Graham, John W.2025-06-302025-06-302013Pettigrew J, Miller-Day M, Shin Y, Hecht ML, Krieger JL, Graham JW. Describing teacher-student interactions: a qualitative assessment of teacher implementation of the 7th grade keepin' it REAL substance use intervention. Am J Community Psychol. 2013;51(1-2):43-56. doi:10.1007/s10464-012-9539-1https://hdl.handle.net/1805/49076Variations in the delivery of school-based substance use prevention curricula affect students' acquisition of the lesson content and program outcomes. Although adaptation is sometimes viewed as a lack of fidelity, it is unclear what types of variations actually occur in the classroom. This observational study investigated teacher and student behaviors during implementation of a middle school-based drug prevention curriculum in 25 schools across two Midwestern states. Trained observers coded videos of 276 lessons, reflecting a total of 31 predominantly Caucasian teachers (10 males and 21 females) in 73 different classes. Employing qualitative coding procedures, the study provides a working typology of implementation patterns based on varying levels of teacher control and student participation. These patterns are fairly consistent across lessons and across classes of students, suggesting a teacher-driven delivery model where teachers create a set of constraints within which students vary their engagement. Findings provide a descriptive basis grounded in observation of classroom implementation that can be used to test models of implementation fidelity and quality as well as impact training and other dissemination research.en-USPublisher PolicyImplementationDeliverySubstance use preventionAdolescent healthArticle