WED-105 - Activity-based Substance Use Prevention for Rural Students

Brief Abstract Summary: Participate in activity-based alcohol and drug prevention learning games implemented in a rural elementary-level afterschool program! The purpose of this project was to examine any pre-post- program change in child participant attitudes towards substance use and teacher-observed pro-social behaviors when used in the afterschool as a stand-alone intervention - without implementing the school health curriculum that it is to extend and reinforce. Elementary children and their teachers participated once/week for six weeks in the 45-minute-long intervention activities. Qualitative results demonstrated the children’s increased negative attitude towards alcohol and drug use. Teachers documented significant positive changes in personal behaviors, social behaviors, and pro-social actions of the children. For these elementary children, activity and action-based learning, even as a stand-alone curriculum, is a promising strategy for supporting non-substance use attitudes and pro-social behaviors.

Detailed abstract description: Participate in activity-based alcohol and drug prevention learning games implemented in a rural elementary-level afterschool program! The activity-based learning games from the Too Good For Drugs (TGFD) Afterschool Activity Kit were implemented in a rural elementary-level afterschool program of a small Midwest United States school district as a stand-alone intervention – without implementing the school health curriculum that it is to extend and reinforce. The purpose of this project was to examine any pre-post-TGFD program change in child participant attitudes towards alcohol and drug use and teacher-observed pro-social behaviors when used in the afterschool setting and as a stand-alone intervention. After all consents and approvals, children and their certified teachers in the afterschool classrooms participated in the intervention activities and pre-post-program qualitative (Draw-Write -Tell Technique) and quantitative (Teacher Checklist of Student Behaviors accompanying the activity kit) evaluations. For six weeks, 45-minute-long activity-based learning games [Examples: Goal setting, Decision-making, Managing emotions, Relationships, and Drug awareness] were taught by local substance use prevention coalition members to student participants. Results of a practical thematic analysis of the qualitative data demonstrated increased negative attitude towards youth substance use as the main themes of ‘drugs are poison’ and ‘do healthier things instead’ became more pronounced with detailed rationale pre-post program. Participants’ teachers documented significant pre-post program positive changes, too, in most social-emotional behaviors including personal behaviors, social behaviors, and pro-social actions. It seems, for these elementary students, that activity and action-based learning, even as a stand-alone curriculum, is a promising strategy for supporting non-substance use attitudes and pro-social behaviors.