Best Practices Checklist: Youth Substance Abuse Prevention

Best Practices Checklist:

Youth Substance Abuse Prevention

Significant research has been done as to what makes a substance abuse prevention program effective.  The following components will not ensure that your program is successful, but they will greatly enhance the chances that it will be. (The eleven promising practices described below are based on the research studies listed at the end of this document.)

1. The program you implement should be based on research and theory.  Do some reading before you start a program.  It’s best to know about what experts are proposing.  One of the most essential theories that should be included in your implementation involves decreasing risk factors and increasing protective factors.  Risk factors include early aggression, academic failure, deviant/delinquent attitudes and behavior.  Protective factors include positive activities, school achievement, setting goals, associating with positive peer groups, building relationships with loving adults, parental support, helping, caring, and living up to one’s potential.  Early intervention with kids displaying risk factors is most effective.  Note, however, that risk and protective factors change with age; therefore, be mindful of the factors that most affect the particular program participants you are serving.  Family has a greater impact on younger children, for example, where as peers have a greater impact on adolescents. (Note: for a well-researched listing of positive “developmental assets” that serve as protectors factors, check out The Search Institute’s “40 Developmental Assets.”)

2. Information presented in the program should be accurate and developmentally appropriate.  Make sure your information you present is from a credible source and that it is geared towards the age-group you are serving. Tailor your program to address the risks that are specific to your participants and strengthen the protective factors that are most prevalent.  Inform participants of both long-term and short-term consequences to substance use.  Do not exaggerate the consequences.  Note that teens are more concerned about the present than the future.  Although you should not ignore long-term consequences, teens will care more about short-term consequences that have negative social impact, such as bad breath or stained teeth -- things that might affect their image or social standing.

3. Teach participants to identify and resist social pressures.  Participants need to be taught skills to analyze the role of external pressures, whether peer pressure, advertising, role models, etc.  They should be taught how to effectively refuse, how to say “no”, and yet still maintain friendships.

4. The program should teach kids that most people, both adults and students, do not use drugs, alcohol, and tobacco.  This is called normative education, showing kids what is really normal behavior.  Many teenagers have erroneous perceptions of substance use, believing that almost everyone uses them.  (This is probably especially true if their parents and friends use alcohol, tobacco, or drugs.)

5. The program should teach personal skills, social skills, and comprehensive health education.  This includes problem-solving skills, goal-setting, stress management, communication skills, decision-making skills, assertive skills, and verbal skills.  These skills can help participants make and defend a decision to be sober.

6. Information should be presented interactively (at least in part).  Interactive teaching techniques have been proven to be more successful than simply lecture-based programs.  These techniques include role-playing, discussion, small group activities, simulations, Socratic questioning, brainstorming, and service learning projects.

7. Train those who will be presenting/teaching the material in the program and offer them on-going support.  The success of a program is due to the ability of participants to implement what they have learned, but they will never be able to implement the information if it is not properly communicated to them.  Staff should have an understanding of the needs and motivations of their participants; if the program is geared towards teens then the instructors should be taught some basics of adolescent development.  Interactive teaching techniques may also be a new concept for many people and therefore they should be trained in these methods.

8. The Program should be long-term and in-depth with follow-up.  Research has shown that programs designed to be one-time interventions have little chance of success.  Program effects can disintegrate over time if skills and information are not periodically reviewed.  Prevention should start as early as possible, preferably in elementary school, and be periodically enforced.

9. Be sensitive to the culture, ethnicity, and gender of your participants.  The needs and motivations of people are often greatly affected by culture, race, and gender.  Modify the information you present so that it is geared towards your participants.  Figure out what social resistance skills and normative behaviors the kids in your program need to learn and realize that these often change depending on the environment and culture that surrounds them.

10. Prevention programs should use as many components/outlets as possible, addressing all aspects of participants’ lives.  Outlets for information dispersion include families, schools, the community, and the local media.  When using multiple outlets, make sure that the material presented is consistent across all components.

11. Have the program evaluated regularly by an independent evaluator.  Every program, whether substance abuse prevention or otherwise, can greatly benefit from a critical evaluation.  Effectiveness can never be certain if your program is never evaluated.  Also, there is always room for improvement and the evaluation will help to show you where to make changes. 

All of the above components should be included in a program so as to ensure the greatest chance of success, but research has shown that the following three are the most important:

·       Normative Education (teaching youth what’s normal as most believe substance use is more prevalent than it really is)

·       Cultural Sensitivity

·       Resistance Skills

SOURCES

The above information is based on the following reports:

Although the above practices are found in the other articles below, all 11 appear in:

Eleven Components of Effective Drug Abuse Prevention Curricula

Linda Dusenbury and Mathea Falco

The Journal of School Health, 1995 Volume 65 Number 10

Characteristics of Effective Substance Abuse Prevention Programs

Research Brief – December 23, 2003 Volume 1 Number 26

Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development

http://www.ascd.org/publications/researchbrief/volume1/v1n26.html

Elements of Effective Substance Abuse Education Programs

National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center

http://www.safeyouth.org/scripts/faq/druged.asp

Drug Abuse Prevention: School-based Strategies that Work

ERIC Digest, July 1997

Kris Bosworth

http://www.ericfacility.net/ericdigests/ed409316.html

Treating Teens: A Guide to Adolescent Drug Problems

http://drugstrategies.org/teens/programs.html

Building and Effective Alcohol Prevention Program

Alcohol and Adolescents: Prevention, Intervention, Treatment, Aftercare

Teacher Talk

Volume 3 Number 3

1996 Indiana University, The Center for Adolescent Studies

http://education.indiana.edu/cas/tt/v3i3/building.html

Preventing Drug Use Among Children and Adolescents (Second Edition – In Brief): A Research – Based Guide for Parents, Educators, and Community Leaders

Elizabeth B. Robertson, Ph.D., Susan L. David, M.P.H. (retired), and Suman A. Rao, Ph.D.

National Institute on Drug Abuse.

http://www.nida.nih.gov/Prevention/principles.html

Principles of Prevention

http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/prevent/practice.html

ADDITIONAL INSIGHTS

(1) Dr. William B. Hansen conducted a survey of 2,639 6th-9th grade students to identify what personal qualities are most indicative of current or future substance use.  His conclusions, similar to that stated above, are that normative beliefs (what kids perceive to be normal/common behavior), values, and personal commitment are most strongly related to substance use.  Also indicative, although much less predictive, are perceived abilities to identify and resist pressure and beliefs about the consequences of using drugs, alcohol, and tobacco.  Hansen therefore recommends that to have optimal success, your program should at least endeavor to correct erroneous beliefs about normal behavior, show kids that substance abuse will interfere with the lifestyle they desire, and help build personal commitments. 

SOURCE: Plenary Session: Prevention Programs: What are the Critical Factors that Spell Success?

National Conference on Drug Abuse Prevention Research: Presentations, Papers, and Recommendations

William B. Hansen, PH.D.

http://www.drugabuse.gov/MeetSum/CODA/Critical.html

(2) Instructor attitudes and “classroom” climate may also help in prevention.  Research has shown that extra effort exhibited through flexible schedules, personal contact, providing incentives, and public support of community leaders help in attracting and retaining participants.  Adults, parents, teachers, or otherwise, should attempt to build a caring environment of trust while maintaining high expectations.  They should model positive skills – social, decision-making, and communication skills – and provide open, supportive dialog.

SOURCE: Elements of Effective Substance Abuse Education Programs

National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center

http://www.safeyouth.org/scripts/faq/druged.asp