Category Archives: Press Releases

WHITE PLAINS, NY – Youth smoking rates in Virginia have plummeted to the lowest point in a decade, according to the results of the Youth Tobacco Survey conducted by the Virginia Tobacco Settlement Foundation. Governor Timothy Kaine recently announced that the percentage of Virginia high school students who smoke has dropped to 15.5 percent, well below the national average.

Established in 1999, the Virginia Tobacco Settlement Foundation (VTSF) continues to lead a statewide effort to reduce and prevent youth tobacco use by promoting healthy living habits to children and teenagers. To that end, VTSF funds the use of model prevention programs, such as the Botvin LifeSkills Training program.  A highly effective, evidence-based substance abuse and violence prevention program, LifeSkills Training has more than 25 years of peer-reviewed research behind it.

“The goal of the VTSF-funded LifeSkills Training program is to increase our youths’ knowledge of the consequences of tobacco and substance use, while providing them with skills to resist peer pressure and other social factors,” said Governor Tim Kaine.

“The LifeSkills program is a great tool to help reduce tobacco use among youth,” enthused Alyson Brown, an eighth grader at Manchester Middle School. “The program has taught me and my fellow classmates the life skills we need to reach our full potential.”  Brown continued, “I’m sure that the program has enlightened many youth, including myself, to make different choices and live a long, healthy, tobacco-free life!”

In addition to reducing the risk of tobacco use, the Botvin LifeSkills Training program promotes youth development and healthy alternatives to risky behavior. The LST program not only teaches students how to resist peer pressure, but also how to develop greater self-esteem and cope with anxiety. Throughout the program, students learn skills such as decision-making, assertiveness, and effective communication to help them make healthy choices and avoid harmful risks.

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About Botvin LifeSkills Training

Botvin LifeSkills Training is a highly effective and well-respected evidence-based substance abuse and violence prevention program with more than 25 years of peer-reviewed research behind it. The program was developed by Dr. Gilbert J. Botvin, professor of Public Health and Psychiatry at Cornell University’s Weill Medical College and director of Cornell’s Institute for Prevention Research. Dr. Botvin is also president of National Health Promotion Associates, which promotes the use of evidence-based prevention programs and provides training and technical assistance. LifeSkills Training has been cited for excellence by numerous organizations, including the U.S. Department of Education, the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, part of the U.S. Department of Justice. Studies testing its effectiveness have found that the Botvin LifeSkills Training program can reduce the prevalence of tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drug use by as much as 80 percent. Visit www.lifeskillstraining.com for more information.

About National Health Promotion Associates

National Health Promotion Associates (NHPA) is a health consulting and research firm located in White Plains, NY.  The dedicated research staff is committed to researching and developing the most effective approaches to promoting health and personal development in schools, communities, and families.  NHPA is also responsible for delivering professional development workshops to providers who are implementing the Botvin LifeSkills Trainingprogram.

Media Contact: 

Paulina Kalaj
(914) 220-9431
pkalaj@nhpamail.com

 Two-day forum highlights Botvin LifeSkills Training

WHITE PLAINS, NY – Dr. Gilbert J. Botvin, who developed the highly acclaimed Botvin LifeSkills Training substance abuse and violence prevention program for youth, was an invited speaker at The New Jersey Governor’s Conference on Delinquency Prevention. The two-day conference, titled “Blueprints for Safe Streets and Schools” was held in Eatontown, New Jersey, on October 28–29, 2008.  Dr. Botvin described the LifeSkills Training program, summarized the 25 years of research supporting its effectiveness, and discussed the impact of the LST program on drug abuse, violence, and delinquency. Dr. Botvin also emphasized the critical need for using limited prevention dollars to fund evidenced-based programs.

The conference provided a forum for constructive dialogue about strategies to expand evidence-based prevention programs throughout New Jersey.  Educators, court officials, law enforcement agents, and key community leaders from around the state met with nationally known experts who have designed and implemented programs with a proven track record of positively impacting the lives of our nation’s youth and families.  “It was an honor to be part of this event. Evidence-based approaches are proven to increase public safety through prevention,” commented Dr. Botvin. “At a time when funding for prevention is limited, it’s critically important to use available funding wisely by choosing programs that work,” said Dr. Botvin. Such programs are not only effective, but they can actually save money. According to two independent studies cited by Dr. Botvin, the LST program produces a $25 benefit for every $1 spent.

Governor Corzine introduced New Jersey’s Strategy for Safe Streets and Neighborhoods in an effort to enhance public safety. With its emphasis on prevention, the initiative promotes the funding and implementation of evidence-based programs, such as Botvin LifeSkills Training, throughout the state.

Over the past year, numerous state departments and agencies, community and faith-based organizations, schools, and others have worked to implement the prevention component of Governor Corzine’s strategy. A key element of the prevention strategy is to expand the availability of resources and technical assistance to communities seeking to replicate Model Programs, such as Botvin LifeSkills Training.

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About Botvin LifeSkills Training

Botvin LifeSkills Training is a highly effective and well-respected evidence-based substance abuse and violence prevention program with more than 25 years of peer-reviewed research behind it. The program was developed by Dr. Gilbert J. Botvin, professor of Public Health and Psychiatry at Cornell University’s Weill Medical College and director of Cornell’s Institute for Prevention Research. LifeSkills Training has been cited for excellence by numerous organizations, including the U.S. Department of Education, the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, part of the U.S. Department of Justice. Studies testing its effectiveness have found that the Botvin LifeSkills Training program can reduce the prevalence of tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drug use by as much as 87 percent. Visit www.lifeskillstraining.com for more information.

About Princeton Health Press

Princeton Health Press (PHP) is a health education publishing company located in White Plains, NY.  PHP publishes the highly acclaimed Botvin LifeSkills Training series, as well as many other titles for use in schools, communities, and families that promote health and personal development.

Media Contact:

Paulina Kalaj
(914) 220-9431
pkalaj@nhpamail.com

White Plains, NY- There are fewer Norwood City, OH, students smoking, according to the results of a Coalition for a Drug Free Cincinnati PRIDE survey. The survey, which focuses on existing conditions within schools and communities in the greater Cincinnati area, shows a 25.9% decrease over the last six years in the number of Norwood City 8^th graders who smoke.

In a continuing effort to keep students safe and healthy, the Norwood Health Department worked in conjunction with Norwood City Schools to implement the Botvin LifeSkills Training program. “It works! Our students really benefit from the program! Smoking overall among our students decreased drastically between 2001 and 2007,” said Deb Robison, Family and Children First Coordinator for the Norwood City Schools.

 In addition to reducing the risk of tobacco use, the Botvin LifeSkills Training program promotes healthy alternatives to risky behavior through activities designed to teach students how to resist peer pressure, develop greater self-esteem, and cope with anxiety. Throughout the program, students learn skills such as decision-making, assertiveness, and effective communication to help them make healthy choices and avoid risks.

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About Botvin LifeSkills Training

Botvin LifeSkills Training is an effective and well-respected evidence-based substance abuse and violence prevention program with more than 25 years of peer-reviewed research behind it. The program was developed by Dr. Gilbert J. Botvin, professor of Public Health and Psychiatry at Cornell University’s Weill Medical College and director of Cornell’s Institute for Prevention Research.  LifeSkills Training has been cited for excellence by numerous organizations, including the U.S. Department of Education, the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.  Studies testing its effectiveness have found that the Botvin LifeSkills Training program can reduce the prevalence of tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drug use by as much as 87 percent.

For additional information, contact Paulina Kalaj at 914-220-9431 or visit www.lifeskillstraining.com.

White Plains, NY— Fewer Alabama teens are smoking, according to the results of the 2008 Youth Tobacco Survey. The survey, conducted by the Alabama Department of Public Health’s Tobacco Prevention Branch shows a 17.5% decrease in high school students who smoke in 2008 from those in 2006.

Making significant progress to address adolescent tobacco use, Alabama schools implemented the Botvin LifeSkills Training program in selected schools across the state. “This program has been proven to reduce the risks of alcohol, tobacco, drug abuse and violence by targeting major social and psychological factors that promote these behaviors,” said Dr. Donald Williamson, Alabama’s state health officer.

In addition to reducing the risk of tobacco use, Botvin LifeSkills Training promotes healthy alternatives to risky behavior through activities designed to teach students how to resist peer pressures, develop greater self-esteem and cope with anxiety. Throughout the program, students learn a series of skills such as decision making, assertiveness and effective communication to help them make healthy choices and avoid risks.

“School-based prevention programs for tobacco, alcohol and other drugs have an impressive track record of reducing substance use among youth,” said Dr. Gilbert J. Botvin, an internationally known expert on drug abuse prevention. Dr. Botvin is a professor of public health and psychiatry at Cornell University’s Weill Medical College, director of Cornell’s Institute for Prevention Research, and president of National Health Promotion Associates, Inc.

Botvin LifeSkills Training is an evidence-based substance abuse and violence prevention approach with more than 25 years of peer-reviewed research behind it. The program has been cited for excellence by numerous organizations, including the U.S. Department of Education, the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.  Studies testing its effectiveness have found that LifeSkills Training can reduce the prevalence of tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drug use by as much as 87 percent.

For additional information, contact Paulina Kalaj at 914-220-9431 

New York, NY, November 28, 2007 – Results of a study conducted with 41 middle schools participating in a scientifically rigorous study, showed that a classroom-based drug abuse prevention program that teaches personal self-management skills and general social skills is also effective in preventing violence.

In this recent study, the prevention program known as LifeSkills Training (LST) was implemented to teach drug resistance skills, norms against substance abuse, personal management skills, and general social skills to a sample of over 2,300 urban minority youth attending 6th grade in 20 New York City middle schools. The skills were taught using a combination of interactive teaching techniques.

Findings demonstrate that students who received LST reported on average a 48% reduction in violent and delinquent behavior than those not receiving the program. The strongest prevention effects were found for students who received at least half of the program. These effects included less verbal and physical aggression, fighting, and delinquency.

“School-based prevention programs for alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs have an impressive track record of reducing substance use among youth.  There is considerable evidence that some of the same factors that lead to drug and alcohol use also lead to violence and delinquency. It would stand to reason that an effective drug abuse prevention program would also prevent violence and delinquency. LifeSkills Training is the first to demonstrate such an effect,” said the study’s lead investigator, Dr. Gilbert J. Botvin, an internationally known expert on drug abuse prevention. Dr. Botvin is a professor of public health and psychiatry at Cornell University’s Weill Medical College, director of Cornell’s Institute for Prevention Research, and president of National Health Promotion Associates, Inc.

The study proves that some of the risk factors common to drug abuse and violence include positive attitudes about engaging in deviant behavior, poor coping skills, and inadequate problem-solving or decision-making skills.  Students receiving the LST program are taught to improve these critical skills.

LifeSkills Training is widely regarded as one of the most effective and rigorously tested research-validated, prevention programs used in schools and communities today. LifeSkills Training is supported by over 25 years of scientific research and more than two dozen published scientific studies documenting the effectiveness of the LST approach.  LifeSkills Training is recognized as an Exemplary Program by the U.S. Department of Education, and a Model program by the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, and the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

For additional information on the LifeSkills Training program or this study, please call 914-421-2525 or visit www.lifeskillstraining.com.

WHITE PLAINS, NY, December 2002 – National Health Promotion Associates Inc., a health consulting, training and technical assistance firm established by Dr. Gilbert J. Botvin, developer of the LifeSkills Training drug abuse prevention program, has recently developed the effective school-based curriculum into a home-based program for parents to use with their children. The LifeSkills Training Parent Program, which can be used in conjunction with the LifeSkills Training school-based program or as a stand-alone product, is now available to the public.

This powerful prevention tool for parents of adolescent children is based on the same sound principles as the LifeSkills Training school-based program and the latest scientific evidence on how to decrease risk for drug abuse through a family-centered prevention approach that is fun, interesting, and easy to use. The program, which consists of videotape and a written guide containing information and exercises for the family to complete together, increases knowledge and understanding of the issues of drug abuse among adolescents. In addition, the LifeSkills Training Parent Program reinforces and illustrates parenting skills that have been found to reduce drug use.

The LifeSkills Training Parent Program is now available at a low introductory price of $149. To request more information about the LifeSkills Training Parent Program or to purchase a copy, please email lstinfo@nhpamail.com or call 1-800-293-4969.

LifeSkills Training is widely regarded as the most effective and rigorously tested school-based substance abuse prevention program. Proven to cut alcohol, tobacco and drug use by up to 87 percent, LifeSkills Training is based on 20 years of research by Dr. Botvin and his associates at the Institute for Prevention Research of Weill Medical College of Cornell University. More than a dozen published research studies have documented the effectiveness of the LST approach. LifeSkills Training is the only substance abuse prevention program recommended by every key federal agency concerned with substance abuse, including the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, the U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the White House Office

Study is the First To Show Prevention Program Targeting all Students is Effective with High Risk Youth

New York, NY, December 17– 2002 – Results of a study of youth from 29 inner city middle schools participating in a randomized, controlled prevention trial, has shown for the first time that a universal, school-based prevention program that teaches drug refusal skills, and other essential behaviors is effective with inner-city youth who are at higher than average risk of substance abuse initiation.

“Universal school-based prevention programs for alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use have typically been designed for all students within a particular school setting. However, it has been unclear whether such programs can be effective for those further along the continuum of risk, such as young people with one or more risk factors for substance abuse initiation,” said the study’s lead investigator, Kenneth W. Griffin, Ph.D., M.P.H., Institute for Prevention Research, Weill Medical College of Cornell University. These factors include peer social influence (friends’ use of alcohol and tobacco) and poor grades in school.

In the new study, the intervention program known as LifeSkills Training (LST) was implemented to teach drug resistance skills, norms against substance abuse, important personal management skills, and general social skills to a sub-sample (21%) of 426 youth at high-risk. These skills are taught using a combination of teaching techniques — including group discussion, demonstration, modeling, behavioral rehearsal (in-class practice), feedback and reinforcement, and behavioral ‘homework’ assignments for out-of-class practice.

The sample was comprised of economically disadvantaged, inner-city youth, as indicated by the fact that 61% were students who received free lunch at school and more than one-third of students lived in mother-only households. 49% of the sample were male, and 51% female, 58% were African-American and 29% were Hispanic.

Findings reported less smoking, drinking, inhalant use, after one-year follow-up assessment, compared to 332 youth at high risk in the control group who did not receive the intervention.

“The results are particularly interesting, since they are based on a composite of variables, including use of multiple drugs, frequency of use, quantity of use and the comprehensive effects of these variables on behavior,” added study co-author Gilbert J. Botvin, Ph.D., developer of The LifeSkills Training program, and an internationally known expert on drug abuse prevention who is currently a Professor of Public Health and Psychiatry at Weill Medical College of Cornell University and Director of Cornell’s Institute for Prevention Research.

LifeSkills Training is widely regarded as the most effective and rigorously tested school-based prevention program. Proven to cut alcohol, tobacco and drug use by up to 87 percent, LifeSkills Training is based on 20 years of research by Dr. Botvin and his associates at the Institute for Prevention Research of Cornell University Medical College. More than a dozen published research studies have documented the effectiveness of the LST approach.

LifeSkills Training is the only substance abuse prevention program recommended by every key federal agency concerned with substance abuse, including the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, the U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. The program currently serves over one million students in 25,000 classrooms and 3,000 schools/districts throughout all 50 states, and worldwide in Japan, Korea, Mexico, Sweden, Hong Kong, New Zealand and Argentina.

For a copy of the study, go to www.med.cornell.edu/ipr, click on publications, then under year 2003. For additional information on the study or LifeSkills Training, call 212-996-1715.

New York, NY (June 19, 2002) — A government-funded study conducted by researchers at Iowa State University showed that a school-based prevention program called LifeSkills Training can reduce new marijuana use by 46% when students receiving the LST program were compared with controls one year after the program was administered. Somewhat stronger effects (a 48% reduction in marijuana use) were found for students who received both the LST program and a family-centered prevention program called Strengthening Families.

The study involved over 1300 students from 36 rural schools in Iowa. Schools were randomly assigned to either receive the LST school program, the LST plus the SF program, or to receive neither program and serve as a control group. Students were surveyed by questionnaire before and after the prevention programs were conducted during the 7th grade, and then again one year later in the 8th grade. Prevention effects were found for students who received the LST program as well as for students who received both the LST program and the SF program using an index of substance use initiation as well as for marijuana use.

The study is the first to show that the LST program works to prevent drug use with rural youth. Previous studies have shown LST to be effective with predominantly African American and Hispanic urban youth and predominantly white, suburban youth.

“These findings are important because they show the effectiveness of a school-based prevention program when used either alone or in combination with a family-based program. This study also extends past prevention research by showing that the LST program works across different cultures and socio-economic levels by teaching kids solid social skills, drug refusal skills, and self-management skills that equip them to deal with the challenges of life as an adolescent and resist pressures to use drugs,” explains the developer of the LifeSkills Training program, Gilbert J. Botvin, Ph.D.

Dr. Botvin is an internationally known expert on drug abuse prevention who is currently a Professor of Public Health and Psychiatry at Weill Medical College of Cornell University and Director of Cornell’s Institute for Prevention Research.

The results of this study were somewhat weaker than with some previous studies, due to low rates of drug use by the rural youth in this study. However, the study suggests that combining an effective school-based program such as LST with an effective family-based prevention program offers the potential for even stronger prevention effects.

Dr. Richard Spoth, a researcher at Iowa State University, was the lead investigator. The study was funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Institute on Mental Health.

LifeSkills Training is widely regarded as the most effective and rigorously tested school-based substance abuse prevention program. Proven to cut alcohol, tobacco and drug use by up to 87 percent, LifeSkills Training is based on 20 years of research by Dr. Botvin and his associates at the Institute for Prevention Research of Weill Medical College of Cornell University. More than a dozen published research studies have documented the effectiveness of the LST approach.

LifeSkills Training is the only substance abuse prevention program recommended by every key federal agency concerned with substance abuse, including the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, the U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. The program is currently in use in 7,500 classrooms and 3,000 schools/districts throughout all 50 states, serving more than 1 million students, and worldwide in Japan, Korea, Mexico, Sweden, Hong Kong, New Zealand and Argentina.

New York, NY (December 18, 2001) — A large, randomized study of more than 3,000 New York City school-children (mostly African-American and Hispanic) has shown for the first time that a school-based prevention program that teaches drug refusal skills and other essential behaviors to early adolescents can significantly decrease binge drinking for as long as two years after the initial intervention.

“This is the largest and most rigorous prevention study conducted with inner-city minority youngsters, and one of the first to examine binge drinking in these youth,” said the study’s lead investigator, Gilbert J. Botvin, Ph.D., an internationally known expert on drug abuse prevention who is currently a Professor of Public Health and Psychiatry at Weill Medical College of Cornell University and Director of Cornell’s Institute for Prevention Research.

In the new study, the intervention program known as LifeSkillsTraining (LST) is shown to be highly effective in preventing binge drinking among inner-city minority youth. Binge drinking is defined as an episode of heavy drinking in which young people consume five or more alcoholic beverages in a row. LST previously has proven to be effective in curbing alcohol, tobacco and other drug use among both predominantly white, middle-class youth and inner-city minority youth, but research had not examined the effects of the program on binge drinking until now.

With the increase in peer pressure as well as pressures from movies, music, and the media (a major television network is about to begin running ads for hard liquor for the first time ever), students need the protection afforded by an array of essential skills, such as those taught by the LifeSkillsTraining program, that have been proven to help young people resist the use of tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs. These skills include how to:

• build self-esteem
• think critically and make independent decisions
• resist advertising and media pressures to drink alcoholic beverages or use tobacco
• manage common adolescent anxieties related to social situations or academic performance
• communicate effectively with parents, friends, and authority figures
• develop personal relationships and assert one’s rights

These skills are taught using a combination of teaching techniques, including group discussion, demonstration, modeling, behavioral rehearsal (in-class practice), feedback and reinforcement, and behavioral ‘homework’ assignments for out-of-class practice. The study involved several thousand seventh graders from 29 New York City public schools, randomly assigning each school to receive either LST or the prevention program that was normally used in New York City schools. The youths were 57 percent African-American, 24 percent Hispanic, eight percent Asian, three percent white, and six percent of mixed backgrounds.

The youngsters in the LST intervention group (1,713 in number) participated in 15 special sessions delivered by their seventh grade teachers who had special training in LST techniques; 10 booster sessions were given the following year by their eighth grade teachers. The students in the trial (1,328 were in the control group) were tested with confidential coded questionnaires before and after the intervention, as well as at the one-year and two-year follow-up points.

“Students in the experimental group who received the LST prevention program had significantly lower rates of binge drinking over the three years of the study than the students in the control group,” reported Dr. Botvin. “In fact, students in the experimental group were more than 50 percent less likely to engage in binge drinking at the follow-up assessments,” he adds.

Dr. Botvin notes that most research on binge drinking has been conducted with older youth, particularly college undergraduates. The current findings fill a gap by “increasing our understanding of how to effectively prevent binge drinking during early adolescence, before it increases in frequency and becomes associated with various alcohol-related problems.”

Dr. Botvin’s co-authors on the article are Kenneth W. Griffin, Tracy Diaz and Michelle Ifill-Williams, all of Weill Cornell Medical College. The study was part of a five-year investigation supported by funds from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, part of the National Institutes of Health. The most comprehensively researched prevention education program available to schools and communities, LifeSkills Training has been proven to cut alcohol, tobacco and drug use by up to 87 percent. Developed in 1979 by Dr. Gilbert J. Botvin, professor of public health at Weill Medical College of Cornell University, LifeSkills Training is recommended by every key federal agency, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, the U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. The program is being implemented by schools worldwide and is currently in use in Japan, Korea, Mexico, Sweden, New Zealand and Argentina.

Reductions of 32% in Alcohol Use, 24% in Tobacco Use, 21% in Marijuana Use

New York, NY (March 21, 2001) — A large, randomized study involving more than 3,600 New York City schoolchildren (most of them African-American or Hispanic) has found that an intervention program that teaches drug refusal skills, anti-drug norms, and social and self-management skills can reduce tobacco, alcohol, and drug use among such youth for as long as two years.

The lead investigator of the study, Gilbert J. Botvin, Ph.D., Professor of Public Health and Psychiatry and Director of the Institute for Prevention Research and the Division of Prevention and Health Behavior in the Department of Public Health at Weill Cornell Medical College, says that previously the intervention program, known as the LifeSkills Training (LST) program, has been shown to be effective with predominantly white, middle-class youth. In the new study, LST also appears to be effective with inner-city minorities. “Indeed, this is the largest and most rigorous prevention study conducted with inner-city minority youth,” Dr. Botvin and his colleagues write in an article presenting the study in the March issue of Prevention Science.

The researchers tested several thousand seventh graders from 29 New York City public schools, randomly assigning each school to receive either LST or the program that was normally in place at New York City schools. The youths were 61 percent African-American, 22 percent Hispanic, six percent Asian, six percent white, and five percent of mixed backgrounds. The youngsters receiving the intervention (2,144 in number) experienced 15 special sessions (for which their teachers had had special training) in the seventh grade and 10 “booster” sessions in the eighth grade.

“The prevention program teaches students cognitive-behavioral skills for building self-esteem, resisting advertising pressure, managing anxiety, communicating effectively, developing personal relationships, and asserting one’s rights,” Dr. Botvin and his colleagues write. “These skills are taught using a combination of teaching techniques –including group discussion, demonstration, modeling, behavioral rehearsal, feedback and reinforcement, and behavioral ‘homework’ assignments for out-of-class practice.”

The students in the trial (1,477 were in the control group) were tested with confidential coded questionnaires before and after the intervention and after the one-year follow-up. The results showed that, “Students in the experimental group who received the LST prevention program had significantly lower levels of drug involvement over the 2 years of the study than had students in the control group.” Compared to the control group, a student in the experimental group was 32 percent less likely to have used alcohol, 24 percent less likely to have used tobacco, and 21 percent less likely to have used marijuana.

The researchers discuss many questions raised by the study, such as whether a prevention program can be effective with multiple populations and whether the program should be targeted to special populations like new immigrants. Dr. Botvin notes that some recent discussion has cast doubt on the effectiveness of DARE, a widely used prevention program in schools. But, “In summary,” the researchers write, “the results of this study provide additional evidence of the effectiveness of a school-based drug abuse prevention approach that teaches drug refusal skills, normative expectations, personal self-management skills, and general social skills.”

Dr. Botvin’s co-authors in the article are Kenneth W. Griffin, Tracy Diaz, and Michelle Ifill-Williams, all of Weill Cornell Medical College.

The study was part of a five-year investigation supported by funds from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, part of the National Institutes of Health.

Contact:
Jonathan Weil, Ph.D.
Director of Publications
Office of Public Affairs
212-821-0566, 0560
212-821-0576 (fax)
Email: jweil@med.cornell.edu

Victor Chen
Email: vic9005@nyp.org