IMMEDIATE IMPACT OF 32 DRUG-USE PREVENTION ACTIVITIES AMONG STUDENTS AT CONTINUATION HIGH-SCHOOLS

Those teenagers who are unable to remain in the regular school system for reasons including substance use are transferred to a continuation high school. Generic comprehensive social-influence-drug-use-preventio n-activities are less likely to be effective for use with these at ris k youth. Thus, both classroom and self-instruction (main mode of instr uction at continuation high schools) versions of 16 activities derived from different theoretical sources were tested and ranked on immediat e outcome variables. 388 students from six continuation high schools w ere provided with a pretest-activity-posttest ''component study'' prot ocol. The scores on perceived quality ratings were standardized and av eraged to permit easy comparisons across lessons. While yielding simil ar knowledge changes, students who received the health educator led ac tivity consistently reported higher scores on perceived quality. Socia l influence-oriented lessons, in general, were rated of relatively low perceived quality. The present approach assisted in selection of the lessons with the greatest overall immediate impact.