{"id":7976,"date":"2011-11-13T23:38:56","date_gmt":"2011-11-13T23:38:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/?p=7976"},"modified":"2016-10-04T15:48:41","modified_gmt":"2016-10-04T15:48:41","slug":"characteristics-of-effective-prevention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/2011\/11\/characteristics-of-effective-prevention\/","title":{"rendered":"Characteristics Of Effective Prevention"},"content":{"rendered":"

Written by Bonnie Benard<\/strong>, NIDA, USA.(Originally in training manuals for Project Snowball, Illinois Teen Institutes, 1987)<\/span><\/p>\n

Published in Britain in \u2018Drug Prevention \u2013 Just say Now\u2019 by Peter Stoker, pub. David Fulton Publishers,London, 1992.<\/span><\/p>\n

Programme comprehensiveness\/intensity<\/span><\/h1>\n

A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Multiplicity:<\/strong> the causes of drug\/alcohol abuse are multiple: personality, environmental, behavioural (Kandel, Logan, 1984; Hawkins et al, 1951).\u00a0 Programmes tackling only one area usually fail.\u00a0 You should target multiple systems (youth, families, schools, community, workplace, media, etc).\u00a0 Also use multiple strategies (information, lifestyles, positive alternatives, community policies) (Botvin, 1982).<\/span><\/p>\n

B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Target whole community.<\/strong>\u00a0 School-based programmes achieve less than community-based approaches.<\/span><\/p>\n

C.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Target all youth for prevention<\/strong> – not just \u201chigh risk\u201d.\u00a0 Adolescence is seen to be a high-risk time for all youth in terms of health-compromising behaviour.\u00a0 Labelling \u201chigh risk\u201d youth can provoke stigmatisation and lead to self-fulfilling prophecies.\u00a0 There is however an argument for defining \u201chigh risk\u201d communities where an additional resource over and above the general prevention effort could be justified.<\/span><\/p>\n

D.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Build drug prevention into general health promotion.<\/strong>\u00a0 Drug abuse has been found by several (Lofquist, 1993) to be part of a complex pattern of interrelated factors \u2013 e.g. delinquency, truancy, school failure, precocious sexuality, which share common antecedents.<\/span><\/p>\n

E.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Start at an early age and keep going!<\/strong>\u00a0 Even in infancy there are influences in later behaviour.\u00a0 Developmental difficulties by age 3 are difficult to overcome (Burton, White).\u00a0 Here, it is of course relevant to mention Trevor Williams, Noreen Wetton and Alysoun Moon of the Southampton University team who have demonstrated so graphically in their \u201cJugs and Herrings\u201d research papers that primary age children are not blissfully ignorant of drugs and alcohol.\u00a0 Prevention programmes starting from what children actually know are essential.\u00a0 Many secondary schools still seem to regard years 11 and 12 as the age at which discussion of drugs (or indeed sexuality) should be facilitated.\u00a0 Don\u2019t wait until the horse has run away before you lock the stable doors!<\/span><\/p>\n

F.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Adequate quantity.<\/strong>\u00a0 \u2018One-shot prevention efforts do not work\u201d (Kumpfer, 1988) there must be a substantial number of interventions, each of a substantial duration.\u00a0 Project D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) initiated by Los Angeles Police and now in several countries, delivers no less than seventeen one-hour lessons to any given year and this is only part of the school programme.<\/span><\/p>\n

G.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Integrate family\/classroom\/school\/community life.<\/strong>\u00a0 This is easier to say than do, but where it has happened results have been enhanced.<\/span><\/p>\n

H.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Supportive environment, empowerment.<\/strong>\u00a0 Where young people are encouraged to participate and take responsibility their behavioural outcomes are improved.\u00a0 In Britain now peer-education methods which have been proven elsewhere have been applied to good effect.<\/span><\/p>\n

Programme strategies<\/span><\/h1>\n

J. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u2018KAB\u2019 –<\/strong> K<\/strong>nowledge\/Attitudes\/Behaviour<\/strong>.\u00a0 Address these as a set, i.e. each must be directly tackled rather than assuming one will flow from another.\u00a0 The behavioural component is in part addressed by social skills development, but also supported by positive reinforcement activities \u2013 drug free social\/sporting events, commendations (preferably with something for everyone), media coverage, etc.\u00a0 Research suggests that social learning theory (Bandura, 1977) produces some of the most profound improvements.<\/span><\/p>\n

K.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Drug specific curriculum.<\/strong>\u00a0 Affective education programmes that had not specifically covered drugs (including alcohol) were found unsuccessful, even though they addressed knowledge, attitudes and lifeskills.<\/span><\/p>\n

L.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Gateway drugs.<\/strong>\u00a0 So-called because people now using heavy-end drugs almost always started on these.\u00a0 Gateway drugs can be tobacco, alcohol and cannabis or, these days inBritain, even heroin!\u00a0 Concentration on prevention of these is therefore likely to prevent all substances.\u00a0 British research by PaT (Parents against Tobacco, 1990), showed that of youth who smoked tobacco 50% had also tried an illegal drug compared with only 2% of those who did not smoke tobacco.\u00a0 It should be particularly noted that cannabis is far from harmless; physical, mental and social damage is now being increasingly accepted as a reality.<\/span><\/p>\n

M.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Salient material.<\/strong>\u00a0 Whatever is used needs to identify with the audience, including:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 ethnic\/cultural sensitivity<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 appeal to youth\u2019s interests<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 short term outcomes to be emphasised as important to youth as well as long term<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 appropriate language, readability<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 appealing graphics<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 appropriate to real age\/reading age \u2013 a key factor<\/span><\/p>\n

In a survey of 3, 700, 000 young American children, 25% of 9 year olds felt \u201csome\u201d to \u201ca lot\u201d of peer pressure to try drugs or alcohol (Weekly Reader, 1987).<\/span><\/p>\n

N.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Alternatives.<\/strong>\u00a0 Activities have to be plausible, be more highly valued than the health-compromising behaviour.\u00a0 Too often these alternatives are poorly thought through. ( \u2018Ping-pong = prevention\u2019? No!)<\/span><\/p>\n

P.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Lifeskills.<\/strong> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Development of these will be of wider benefit than drug prevention.\u00a0 Included will be<\/span><\/p>\n

communication, problem solving, decision-making, critical thinking, assertiveness, peer pressure reversal, peer selection, low-risk choice making, self-improvement, stress reduction and consumer awareness (Botvin, 1985).<\/span><\/p>\n

Choosing your friends has been found in some research to be more effective than resisting the peer pressure of said friends.\u00a0 Consumer awareness is a \u201ccompanion\u201d to resisting peer pressure, i.e. resisting media pressure.<\/span><\/p>\n

Q.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Training prevention workers.<\/strong>\u00a0 For the school setting the greater emphasis on experiential and interactive work requires teacher training to extend into youth work skills.\u00a0 Community development skills are valuable in taking school initiatives into the community.\u00a0 Imported \u201cprestige\u201d role models are all very well, but good results have been achieved with parents, peers, teachers, or outside agency workers.<\/span><\/p>\n

R.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Community norms.<\/strong>\u00a0 Consistency of policies throughout schools, families and communities can greatly enhance impact.<\/span><\/p>\n

S.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Alcohol norms.<\/strong>\u00a0 Because of its dual status as a beverage and as a culturally accepted drug, alcohol is problematic for prevention.\u00a0 However, heart disease and tobacco prevention programmes have shown that societal norms can be changed.<\/span><\/p>\n

T.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Improve schooling!<\/strong>\u00a0 Listed here as a target because of its important correlation with healthy lifestyle.\u00a0 Within the current British economic and academic climate one realistic hope may lie with co-operative learning, see the \u2018Tribes\u2019 programme, for example.<\/span><\/p>\n

U.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Change society.<\/strong>\u00a0 Don\u2019t just stop with improving schools; add your voices to pressure for improvement in employment, housing, recreation and self-development; it is na\u00efve to suppose that prevention can take place in a political vacuum.\u00a0 Jessor recognises that failing to acknowledge the need for macro-environmental improvement while at the same time placing the responsibility for health solely with the individual is tantamount to \u201cblaming the victim\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

The planning process<\/span><\/h1>\n

V.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Design, implementation, evaluation.<\/strong>\u00a0 Evaluations have generally concentrated on outcomes rather than the quality of design.\u00a0 However, implementation is as much dependent on engaging all sectors of the community (be it a school, a workplace, or a town) as it is on quality of design.\u00a0 Evaluation should therefore measure process as well as outcome.<\/span><\/p>\n

W.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Goal-setting.<\/strong>\u00a0 Unrealistic or immeasurable goals help no-one.\u00a0 It is important to set not only long-term outcome goals (for prevention is long-term) but also \u201cprocess goals\u201d such as increased involvement of parents and community, academic success, increased student-teacher interaction, and so on.<\/span><\/p>\n

X.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Evaluation and amendment.<\/strong>\u00a0 Prevention workers have been criticized for giving too little attention to this area, the crushing shortage of funds has much to do with it (inAmerica the ratio of funding between interdiction-policy and prevention is about 200:1).\u00a0 This lack of emphasis on evaluation has been the Achilles heel that pro-drug campaigners have gleefully attacked.\u00a0 Effective evaluations have been those including longitudinal design, multiple measures of process as well as outcome (Tobler, 1986), and cost-benefit analysis (CBA).\u00a0 CBA is perhaps the greatest marketing tool prevention has; where CBA has been applied substantial cost effectiveness has been demonstrated.<\/span><\/p>\n

Source: Quoted in book Drug Prevention Just Say Now (1992) by Peter Stoker. \u00a0Contact NDPA<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Written by Bonnie Benard, NIDA, USA.(Originally in training manuals for Project Snowball, Illinois Teen Institutes, 1987) Published in Britain in \u2018Drug Prevention \u2013 Just say Now\u2019 by Peter Stoker, pub. David Fulton Publishers,London, 1992. Programme comprehensiveness\/intensity A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Multiplicity: the causes of drug\/alcohol abuse are multiple: personality, environmental, behavioural (Kandel, Logan, 1984; Hawkins et al, 1951).\u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,26,27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7976","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-education-sector-papers","category-prevention","category-social-affairs-papers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7976","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7976"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7976\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7976"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7976"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7976"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}