EFFECTIVENESS OF A SCHOOL-BASED SUBSTANCE-ABUSE PREVENTION PROGRAM

A grade five through eight substance abuse prevention program, later i ncorporated into the Michigan Model for Comprehensive School Health Ed ucation, was developed, implemented, and evaluated. Results focus on s tudents who received seven lessons on alcohol in grade six, and eight lessons on tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, and cocaine in grade seven tau ght by their regular classroom teachers (after a 6-hour training in th e social pressures resistance skills curriculum). Students (N = 442) r eceived either two years of the program or none, and completed individ ually-coded questionnaires. Repeated measures analysis of variance res ulted in significant treatment by occasion interactions on the use of alcohol, cigarettes, marijuana, cocaine, and other drugs, as well as o n knowledge. At the end of grade seven, program students' rates of sub stance use had increased significantly less and knowledge of alcohol p ressures, effects, and skills to resist had increased significantly mo re than those of comparison students.