School‐based prevention for illicit drugs' use
Abstract
Background
Drug addiction is a chronic, relapsing disease. Primary interventions should be aimed to reduce first use, or prevent the transition from experimental use to addiction. School is the appropriate setting for preventive interventions.
Objectives
To evaluate the effectiveness of school‐based interventions in improving knowledge, developing skills, promoting change, and preventing or reducing drug use versus usual curricular activities or a different school‐based intervention .
Search methods
We searched the Cochrane Drug and Alcohol Group trial register (February 2004), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (The Cochrane Library Issue 2, 2004), MEDLINE (1966 to February 2004) , EMBASE (1988 to February 2004), and other databases. We also contacted researchers in the field and checked reference lists of articles.
Selection criteria
Randomised controlled trials (RCT), case controlled trials (CCT) or controlled prospective studies (CPS) evaluating school‐based interventions designed to prevent substance use.
Data collection and analysis
Two authors independently extracted data and assessed trial quality.
Main results
32 studies (29 RCTs and three CPSs) were included with 46539 participants. Twenty eight were conducted in the USA; most were focused on 6th‐7th grade students, and based on post‐test assessment.
RCTs
(1) Knowledge versus usual curricula
Knowledge focused programs improve drug knowledge (standardised mean difference (SMD) 0.91; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.42 to 1.39).
(2) Skills versus usual curricula
Skills based interventions increase drug knowledge (weighted mean difference (WMD) 2.60; 95% CI 1.17 to 4.03), decision making skills (SMD 0.78; CI 95%: 0.46 to 1.09), self‐esteem (SMD 0.22; CI 95% 0.03 to 0.40), peer pressure resistance (relative risk (RR) 2.05; CI 95%: 1.24 to 3.42), drug use (RR 0.81; CI 95% 0.64 to 1.02), marijuana use (RR 0.82; CI 95% 0.73 to 0.92) and hard drug use (RR 0.45; CI 95% 0.24 to 0.85).
(3) Skills versus knowledge
No differences are evident.
(4) Skills versus affective
Skills‐based interventions are only better than affective ones in self‐efficacy (WMD 1.90; CI 95%: 0.25 to 3.55).
Results from CPSs
No statistically significant results emerge from CPSs.
Authors' conclusions
Skills based programs appear to be effective in deterring early‐stage drug use.
The replication of results with well designed, long term randomised trials, and the evaluation of single components of intervention (peer, parents, booster sessions) are the priorities for research. All new studies should control for cluster effect.
PICOs
Plain language summary
School‐based prevention for illicit drugs' use
Drug addiction is a long‐term problem caused by an uncontrollable compulsion to seek drugs. People may use drugs to seek an effect, to feel accepted by their peers or as a way of dealing with life's problems. Even after undertaking detoxification to reach a drug‐free state, many return to opioid use. This makes it important to reduce the number of people first using drugs and to prevent transition from experimental use to addiction. For young people, peers, family and social context are strongly implicated in early drug use. Schools offer the most systematic and efficient way of reaching them. School programs can be designed to provide knowledge about the effects of drugs on the body and psychological effects, as a way of building negative attitudes toward drugs; to build individual self‐esteem and self‐awareness, working on psychological factors that may place people at risk of use; to teach refusal and social life skills; and to encourage alternative activities to drug use, which instil control abilities.
The review authors found 32 controlled studies, of which 29 were randomised, comparing school‐based programs aimed at prevention of substance use with the usual curriculum. The 46,539 students involved were mainly in sixth or seventh grade. Programs that focused on knowledge improved drug knowledge to some degree, in six randomised trials. Social skills programs were more widely used (25 randomised trials) and effectively increased drug knowledge, decision‐making skills, self‐esteem, resistance to peer pressure, and drug use including of marijuana (RR 0.8) and hard drugs (heroin) (RR 0.5). The programs were mainly interactive and involved external educators in 20 randomised trials. Effects of the interventions on assertiveness, attitudes towards drugs, and intention to use drugs were not clearly different in any of the trials.
Most trials were conducted in the USA and, as a nation's social context and drug policies have a significant influence on the effectiveness of the programs, these results may not be relevant to other countries. Measures of change were often made immediately after the intervention with very little long‐term follow up or investigation of peer influence, social context, and involvement of parents.
