An Outreach Program in Drug Education: Teaching a Rational Approach to Drug Use

Abstract

Drug use is a topic of increasing interest, and many drug education programs have appeared in schools. However, school-based programs tend to be didactic, moralistic presentations that do not reach the youth who most need drug information. Aimed at encouraging rational decision making about drug use, a peer oriented drug education program was conducted in a community youth project. In a candid atmosphere, youth and leaders shared feelings and knowledge about drugs. Youth made decisions about program direction, format and curriculum. In comparison with 4 program dropouts, 6 participants exhibited more positive attitudes toward the drug group (p < .002), its leaders (p < .01) and themselves (p < .03). Although participants had experimented with drugs less than dropouts (p < .001), they knew significantly more than dropouts on 1 of 6 measures of drug knowledge (p < .05) and tended to know more on 2 others (p < .10). Peer oriented community-based drug education programs provide a viable format for reaching youth with information and encouraging them to make decisions about drug use based on rational factors.

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