Preventing new substance use behaviors in youth: evaluation of a two-year comprehensive program.
Oulmann Zerhouni, Sandra Loisy, Renaud Bouthier, Valentin Flaudias
Frontiers in psychology January 1, 2024 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1339751 via PubMed
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractA prevention program targeting ecstasy, cannabidiol, and nitrous oxide used four actions: training for 84 association workers, on-site interventions with 248 students, social media posts reaching 186 young people, and providing prevention tools to 148 party organizers. After training, workers' understanding of emerging substances improved from an average score of 15.76 to 18.29. Among young people, intentions to use MDMA shifted from 15.89 to 19.17, and awareness of CBD effects increased from 14.18 to 17.60. Instagram posts about nitrous oxide led to more negative attitudes, with scores changing from 8.16 to 8.42. A website providing information showed no significant effect.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Pre-post intervention evaluation Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 666 |
| Population | Association workers and young people in France |
| Interventions | training for association workers on-site student party interventions provision of prevention tools for party organizers |
| Topics | CBD MDMA |
| Keywords | Field interventions Nitrous oxide Drug prevention |
| Citations | 1 |
| Key finding | Training, field interventions, and Instagram posts improved knowledge and shifted attitudes toward emerging psychoactive substances, but a website had no significant effect. |
Abstract
The Avenir Santé Association implemented a comprehensive prevention program targeting the consumption of the emerging psychoactive substances ecstasy (MDMA), cannabidiol (CBD), and nitrous oxide (N2O). The program was evaluated through four actions: (i) training for association workers (n = 84) (ii) on-site student party interventions (n = 248), (iii) social network-based prevention (n = 186), and (iv) provision of prevention tools for party organizers (n = 148). Results showed a significant increase in understanding of emerging substances among association workers, with a pre-training score of M = 15.76 (SD = 3.65) and a post-training score of M = 18.29 (SD = 2.50). Increased awareness and reflective attitudes toward substance use were observed among young people participating in field actions, with pre- and post-intervention scores for MDMA use intentions being M = 15.89 (SD = 4.60) and M = 19.17 (SD = 3.33), respectively. Similarly, awareness of CBD effects increased from M = 14.18 (SD = 4.14) to M = 17.60 (SD = 3.31). Exposure to Instagram posts on N2O led to more negative attitudes toward N2O among young people, with a significant change in scores from M = 8.16 (SD = 1.57) to M = 8.42 (SD = 1.26). However, exposure to a website providing information about emerging substances did not produce any significant effect. In conclusion, this initiative underscores the usefulness of facilitator training, field interventions, and certain online information strategies for substance judgment and usage intentions. Future prevention programs can advantageously incorporate these actions.