Pathways to Effectiveness in Substance Abuse Prevention: Empowering Organizational Characteristics of Community-Based Coalitions

Abstract

Coalition development is an important approach to the prevention of substance abuse. In addition, empowerment is considered a critical foundation of coalitions’ effectiveness. Few studies, however, have tested the characteristics of coalitions that predict empowerment and effectiveness in substance abuse prevention contexts. This study tested a path model that included organizational characteristics as predictors of members’ empowerment and ratings of coalition effectiveness. Participants (n = 138) were members of 11 coalitions. Leadership had an indirect effect on coalition effectiveness through its influence on opportunity role structure, social support, and group-based belief system. Empowerment mediated the effect of social support on effectiveness.