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Classroom Characteristics and implementation of a substance use prevention curriculum in European countries
No full textUnplugged, an effective school-based program for the prevention of substance use among adolescents. Eudap Final Technical Report n.1
Full text linkResults of the evaluation of a school-based program for the prevention of substance use among adolescents. Eudap Final Technical Report n.2
Full text linkEffects of a school-based prevention program on European adolescents' pattern of alcohol use.
No full textPurpose: School-based substance abuse prevention programs are widespread but are rarely evaluated in
Europe. We aimed to evaluate the effect of a new school-based prevention program against substance use on
the frequency of alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problem behaviors among European students.
Methods: During the school year 2004–2005, a total of 7,079 students aged 12–14 years from 143 schools in
seven European countries participated in this cluster randomized controlled trial. Schools were randomly
assigned to either control (65 schools, 3,532 students) or to a 12-session standardized program based on the
comprehensive social influence model (78 schools, 3,547 students). Alcohol use and frequency of alcoholrelated
problem behaviors were investigated through a self-completed anonymous questionnaire at baseline
and 18 months thereafter. The association between intervention and changes in alcohol-related outcomes
was expressed as odds ratio (OR), estimated by multilevel regression model.
Results: The preventive program was associated with a decreased risk of reporting alcohol-related problems
(OR.78, 95% confidence intervals [CI].63–.98), although this reduction was not statistically significant in
the subgroup of 743 current drinkers at baseline. The risk for alcohol consumption was not modified by
exposure to the program (OR.93, 95% CI.79 –1.09). In the intervention group, nondrinkers and occasional
drinkers at baseline progressed toward frequent drinking less often than in the control group.
Conclusions: School curricula based on the comprehensive social-influence model can delay progression to
frequent drinking and reduce occurrence of alcohol-related behavioral problems in European students. These
results, albeit moderate, have potentially useful implications at the population level
Testing anonymous link procedures for follow-up of adolescents in a school-based trial: The EU-DAP pilot study
No full textA cluster randomized controlled trial of school-based prevention of tobacco, alcohol and drugs use: The EU-Dap design and study population
No full textImplementation of EUDAP project at a population level: the EU-Dap 2 Project. Final Technical Report 2010
No full textIs universal prevention against youths' substance misuse really universal? Gender specific effects in the EU-Dap school-based prevention trial
Full text linkBackground: Studies of effectiveness of school-based prevention of substance misuse have generally overlooked gender differences. The purpose of this work was to analyse gender differences in the effectiveness of a new European school-based curriculum for prevention of substance misuse among adolescents.
Methods: The European Drug Abuse Prevention (EU-Dap) trial took place in seven European countries during the school year 2004–05. Schools were randomly assigned to either a control group or a 12-session standardised curriculum (“Unplugged”) based on a comprehensive social influence model. The analytical sample consisted of 6359 students (3324 boys and 3035 girls). The use of cigarettes, alcohol and illicit drugs, adolescents’ knowledge and opinions about substances, as well as social and personal skills were investigated through a self-completed anonymous questionnaire administered at enrolment and 3 months after the end of the programme. Adjusted Prevalence Odds Ratios were calculated as the measure of association between the intervention and behavioural outcomes using multilevel regression modelling.
Results: At enrolment, boys were more likely than girls to have used cannabis and illicit drugs, whereas girls had a higher prevalence of cigarette smoking. At the follow-up survey, a significant association between the programme and a lower prevalence of all behavioural outcomes was found among boys, but not among girls. Age and self-esteem emerged as possible modifiers of these gender differences, but effects were not statistically significant.
Conclusions: Comprehensive social influence school curricula against substance misuse in adolescence may perform differently among girls and boys, owing to developmental and personality factors
Classroom characteristics and implementation of a substance use prevention curriculum in European countries.
Full text linkPartial implementation may explain modest effectiveness of many school-based preventive programmes against substance use. We studied whether specific characteristics of the class could predict the level of implementation of a curriculum delivered by class teachers in schools from some European countries.Secondary analysis of data from an evaluation trial. In seven European countries, 78 schools (173 classes) were randomly assigned to a 12-unit, interactive, standardized programme based on the comprehensive social influence model. Curriculum completeness, application fidelity, average unit duration and use of role-play were monitored using structured report forms. Predictors of implementation were measured by aggregating at class level information from the baseline student survey. Class size, gender composition, mean age, factors related to substance use and to affection to school were analysed, with associations estimated by multilevel regression models.Implementation was not significantly predicted by mean age, proportion of students with positive academic expectation or liking school. Proportion of boys was associated with a shorter time devoted to each unit [β = -0.19, 95% confidence intervals (CI) -0.32 to -0.06]. Class size was inversely related to application fidelity [Odds ratio (OR) 0.92, 95% CI 0.85 to 0.99]. Prevalence of substance use was associated with a decreased odds of implementing all the curriculum units (OR 0.81, 95% CI 0.65 to 0.99). Students' connectedness to their class was associated with increased odds of teachers using role-play (OR 1.52, 95% CI 1.03 to 2.29).Teachers' implementation of preventive programmes may be affected by structural and social characteristics of classes and therefore benefit from organizational strategies and teachers' training in class management techniques
'Unplugged': A new European school programme against substance abuse
No full textThis paper presents the rationale, development and application of ‘Unplugged’, a new
school programme for the prevention of substance abuse, which is based on the
comprehensive social influence approach (CSI). The programme was developed,
implemented and evaluated by a cross-disciplinary group of experts in the frame of
a multi-centre study in seven European countries. The basic curriculum consists of
12 units, which are delivered by class teachers to a target population of 12–14 year-old
students. Additional programme components were workshops for the students’ parents
and debriefing sessions led by class peers. The programme’s application was monitored
by means of structured report forms. This process monitoring allowed for the analysis
of problems in implementation, as well as of participatory aspects.
‘Unplugged’ is the first comprehensive social influence school curriculum in Europe of
which the efficacy has been evaluated in a field trial, and it also constitutes an example of
a theory- and evidence-based programme against youths’ substance use. This report can provide public health and school decision makers with tools to make an informed choice
on these kinds of programmes and to survey their application
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