Preventing alcohol and drug abuse through primary education: An evaluation of a school -based substance abuse prevention program

Preventing Alcohol and Drug Abuse Through Primary Education (PADAPE), a low cost prevention program, was developed by combining and condensing two nationally recognized educational programs, Here's Looking at You and Get Real About Tobacco. In Phase One of this study, pre-tests, post-tests, and follow-up tests were administered to 615 second through fifth graders who participated in the PADAPE program to measure their knowledge about substances, refusal skills, and social skills. The results of this study found that, across grades, performance significantly improved between pre-test to post-test and improvements were maintained at the follow-up. When survey items were analyzed individually, the same pattern was found for most items. The Phase Two hypothesis that students who had received the program in the previous year (N = 730) would perform better on the pre-test than students who did not have prior exposure (N = 791) was not supported. Reasons for this are explored. Future studies of long-term efficacy are suggested. Recommendations are made for improving the program. The findings suggest that PADAPE is an affordable educational program that is beneficial to the students who are exposed to it.