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Chapter 2: Foundations of Substance Abuse Prevention Curricula
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Introduction
Users of the Curriculum Builder and accompanying Handbook most likely already possess skills and experiences that can help them build and deliver effective substance abuse prevention curricula. In Chapter 2, a variety of factors are discussed that can help maximize the likelihood that prevention efforts will have their desired impact. More specifically, this chapter will:
Define substance abuse prevention.
Describe where substance abuse prevention activities can occur.
Describe the difference between school-based substance abuse prevention programs and school-based substance abuse prevention curricula.
Discuss research findings that can be used to guide the selection of substance abuse prevention curricula for use in a classroom setting.
Explain the importance of interactive activities as part of a successful substance abuse prevention curriculum.
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"Every American child will face a conscious choice whether to smoke, drink or use [other] drugs before they graduate from high school. What each chooses will be related to a host of factors, including parental and family engagement, religious and moral values, genetics, learning disabilities and psychological factors. Schools have a unique opportunity to affect two of the critical factors: availability of drugs and students' perception of risk in using them" (CASA, 2001).
Defining Prevention
Many of those working with youth already possess valuable skills and experiences that can be applied to prevention efforts.
A thorough understanding of the concept of prevention can maximize the likelihood that prevention efforts will have their desired impact.
Prevention efforts are activities aimed at various audiences, with the ultimate goal of preventing, postponing, or reducing substance abuse and its negative outcomes.
Types of prevention:
Universal programs: designed to reach the general population
Indicated programs: designed to reach those who have already begun to experiment with drugs or exhibit early danger signs
Selective programs: designed to reach youth at high risk for drug use.
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Foundations for Prevention
Prevention efforts should be guided by sound theory and findings from relevant research.
Theories are useful in planning prevention programs because they:
Clarify the nature of targeted health behaviors.
Explain potential processes for changing behavior.
Explain the effects of external influences on behavior.
Help identify the most suitable targets for programs, methods for accomplishing change, and outcomes amenable to evaluation.
The ecological approach:
Most classroom-based prevention programs in use today are based on theoretical models aimed at individual or interpersonal change:
Intrapersonal
(individual) |
Stages of Change Model |
Individuals' readiness to change or attempt to change toward healthy behaviors |
Health Belief Model |
Individuals' perceptions of the threat of a health problem and the appraisal of recommended behaviors) for preventing or managing the problem |
Interpersonal |
Consumer Information Model |
Process by which consumer acquire and use information in their decisionmaking |
Social Learning Theory |
Behavior is explained via a three-way, dynamic reciprocal theory, in which personal factors, environmental influences, and behavior continually interact |
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Where Should Communitywide Prevention Occur?
Community-based programs:
Schools
Universities
Daycare centers
Businesses
Treatment centers
School-based programs, as components of broad-based community prevention efforts, are able to:
Reach a majority of school-aged children and adolescents
Take advantage of the learning environment
Use the teaching skills of the staff
Use resources available in the school/classroom
Provide opportunities to reach subpopulations at risk for substance abuse
Many substance abuse prevention activities address the following National Health Education Standards for Students:
Students will comprehend concepts related to health promotion and disease prevention.
Students will demonstrate the ability to access valid health information and health-promoting products and services.
Students will demonstrate the ability to practice health-enhancing behaviors and reduce health risks.
Students will analyze the influence of culture, media, technology and other factors on health.
Students will demonstrate the ability to use interpersonal communication skills to enhance health.
Students will demonstrate the ability to use goal-setting and decision-making skills to enhance health.
Students will demonstrate the ability to advocate for personal, family, and community health.
Classroom-Based Prevention: Prevention Curricula vs. Prevention Programs
The Curriculum Builder is designed to help those working in classrooms and similar community settings select appropriate, research-based activities with which they can build classroom-based prevention curricula that best meet the needs of their particular groups of students.
Curricular prevention is defined as prevention activities or lesson plans used in a classroom setting.
Extracurricular prevention is defined as prevention activities used outside the classroom and include school policies, parental components, and school connectedness.
School-based prevention programs include both curricular and extracurricular activities.
Who Should Receive School-Based Substance Abuse Prevention Programming, and When Should It Start?
All youth should be targeted.
Preschool or kindergarten is not too early.
Prevention should be an ongoing effort.
Students should not be oversaturated with information.
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Elements of an Effective School-Based Prevention Curriculum
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Elements of Successful Program Delivery
A successful leader:
Engages students in active learning
Establishes trust
Establishes high expectations
Practices open and supportive communication
Creates a positive atmosphere of caring and helping
Prepares for the role
Is willing to support and work on broader community prevention efforts
Understands the serious consequences of substance use during the teen years, particularly for younger adolescents
Examines personal substance use patterns to identify biases that might be conveyed to students
Interactive activities
Definitions of interactive activities:
Exercises that actively involve youth in the learning process
Instructional techniques that involve youth in activities and allow them to reflect on their performance of those activities
Endeavors requiring active involvementyouth engaged in higher-order thinking tasks such as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation
Evidence to support use of interactive activities:
Interactive activities show more positive results than didactic methodologies in communicating prevention messages to a wide cross-section of children and adolescents.
Role plays, simulations, Socratic questioning, brainstorming, small-group activities, cooperative learning, class discussions, and service-learning projects have a favorable influence on the attitudes and achievement levels of youth.
Programs relying solely on the provision of information may result in a greater likelihood of drug experimentation.
Advantages of interactive activities:
Types of interactive activities:
Elements of interactive activities:
Lesson plan
Educational product (video, magazine, puzzle, etc.)
Lesson plan plus educational product
Lesson plan plus supplemental, noneducational materials (such as magazines or music CDs)
Lesson plan plus educational product plus supplemental; no educational materials
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Conclusions
Substance abuse prevention should be targeted to influence people, institutions, and community and societal norms.
Classroom-based prevention curricula are an important part of school- and community-based prevention programs.
School- and community-based prevention curricula aimed at children and adolescents should be tailored to the specific characteristics of the target audiences.
Substance abuse prevention programs must include five basic content areas: normative education, protective factors, social skills, perceived harm, and refusal skills.
Interactive activities can and should be used across all prevention content areas in order to achieve optimal learning by participants.
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