Grasshopper and Adolescent Drug Prevention Programs

Abstract

This paper reports on a meta-analysis of 207 universal school-based drug prevention programs that compared the self-reported drug use of treatment to control or comparison youth. Programs are classified into Interactive and Non-Interactive groups based on a combination of content and delivery method. Weighted categorical and weighted regression methods have been used to determine the attributes that most effectively reduce, delay, or prevent drug use, including program size, type of control group and leader, attrition, target drug, intensity, grade, special population and level of drug use. Program type and size are found to be significant predictors of effectiveness. Non-interactive lecture-oriented prevention programs that stress drug knowledge or affective development show small effects. Interactive programs that foster development of interpersonal skills show significantly greater effects that decrease with large-scale implementations.

Drug Prevention & Drug Education
by Narconon International

At every hand, it seems that our children are surrounded with insidious influences that seem to encourage or condone substance abuse. Movies, television, the actions of older children, sports figures, movies stars and musicians – everywhere, there seem to be people who can use drugs and still be successful. How do we counter these influences so that we can keep our young people from falling into substance abuse and addiction?

What we hear over and over is that educators are frustrated in their attempts to find a drug education curriculum that is simple, comprehensive and above all, effective enough to get desirable results. And in this context, “desirable results” means just one thing: fewer young people using drugs.

There are a couple of key concepts that must be conveyed to youth in a way they can accept and understand to get them to start making educated choices in this area.

   Young people must feel that the risks of using drugs far outweigh what they see as the benefits. The person offering to sell them a joint or share beer or prescription pills with them is not going to fill them in on the risks before he hands over the drugs. Drug education must fill this void with accurate information about the risks of drug use, presented in a believable manner.

   Drug use appeals to young people because it seems like it is going to solve a problem. The problems could be shyness or inability to fit in, stress of social, school or family situations, boredom or lack of adventure or excitement in their lives. Young people are capable of understanding this concept if it is expressed in their terms. Effective drug education must offer an alternative to the escape that seems like it will come from substance abuse.

The Narconon drug prevention and education curriculum makes the assumption that young people can understand these issues and learn how to make educated decisions about drug use. In thousands of deliveries to hundreds of thousands of students, it’s been proven that they can and do gain an understanding of the risks of drug abuse and as a result, more often make their own decisions to abstain. That decision, coming from their own hearts, is stronger than any advice or counsel that comes from the outside. That’s what makes the Narconon drug prevention and education curriculum one of the most effective choices for prevention of substance abuse among youth.
40 Years of Experience Preventing Drug Abuse

Narconon drug prevention staff have educated over 5 million school children through the Narconon drug education and training programs. The audio visual program, featuring segments of our live presentations with kids, has reached another 8 million students in over 8,000 schools. We have over 40 years of experience, and our program has demonstrated effectiveness in keeping kids off drugs