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Focus drug education on building competencies

What is it?

As health education (of which substance use education is a part) evolves, increased emphasis is being placed on health literacy. In this context, educating students about substance use has as its goal developing the understanding, skills and confidence needed for making choices related to psychoactive substances that maximize individual and community well-being.

Effective drug education is best positioned within a broad health and personal development curriculum that includes mental health issues such as stress management. Effective programs focus on both knowledge and skills for problem predicting and problem solving and assist students in relating their learning to real-life situations. These programs employ highly interactive pedagogies and promote deeper thinking that brings ethical and relational considerations to the fore.

In light of the ineffectiveness of intuitive approaches to drug education, it is critical that programs be informed by the evidence base. In particular, information-only programs that assume "if children just knew more about drugs, they would make rational choices not to use them" have been ineffective. As have affective approaches that assume "if only children felt better about themselves, and had good communication skills, they would withstand peer pressure and not use drugs."

Level of research support: Evidence of effectiveness

Why do it?

Interpreting the evidence of effectiveness for substance use education is complicated by the lack of agreement about the goal of such education. Most of the research evidence has been collected in the context of a disease paradigm where the goal was abstinence (i.e., preventing use, at least in the short term). Most of the evidence is negative, although some approaches have demonstrated modest impact in reducing or delaying use. The research does not often account for other factors such as patterns of use or the personal and contextual factors important to health promotion and reduction of harm. As a result, the research evidence on effectiveness for substance use education must be evaluated critically with the question of goal in mind.

These are the elements that have demonstrated a positive impact:

  • a foundation in social cognitive theory (Cuijpers, 2002; Tobler et al., 2000),
  • tailoring programs to the culture, cognitive ability and age of the students (Foxcroft et al., 2003; Tobler & Stratton, 1997),
  • correction of over-estimations of social norms (McBride, 2003; Cuijpers, 2002),
  • life-skills training (self-management, decision-making, social and assertiveness skills, anxiety management) (Foxcroft & Tsertsvadze, 2011; Foxcroft et al., 2003; Cuijpers, 2002; Tobler et al., 2000), and
  • interactive teaching methods (McBride, 2003; Cuijpers, 2002; Tobler et al., 2000; Tobler & Stratton, 1997). Some findings report contradictory results concerning interactive teaching, however these analyses should be considered within the context of factors such as the outcomes measured by the research and the broader benefits of active learning.

Who is it for?

  • All students (universal)

Who can facilitate it?

  • Teachers

How can we implement it?

Many personal, social and environmental factors influence substance use and related harms. A competency enhancement approach that seeks to enhance a range of cognitive, social and emotional skills is therefore more likely to have real-world impact than a narrowly defined model.

Choose (or create) a competency-enhancement program

Ideally, a drug education program would have three goals:

  • enhance self regulation,
  • improve social competency, and
  • prepare students to navigate their external environments.

Examples of knowledge and skills that should be covered under each area are listed below.

 

Sources and related material