The literature review
associated with this supplement (http://www.gov.ns.ca/hpp/addictionPrevention.html)
found that research and practice have brought the field of
school drug education to the point where good practices can
now be identified with greater confidence than ever. The
school drug education practice for which evidence is
strongest is interactivity among students. There is clearly
no role for sessions that are predominantly didactic or
where the bulk of the exchange is between teacher and
students. There remains an important role for accurate,
balanced, drug-specific information; however, this
information needs to be brought out through the interactive
sessions and needs to take the form of relevant, practical
“utility knowledge.”
The
approach to junior high school drug education best
supported by the scientific literature is the Social
Influences Model, which aims to furnish young people with
the insights and skills to deal effectively with the
various social and cultural messages promoting substance
use. This model, which has been the subject of much
research over the past 25 years, conceptualizes adolescent
use of substances to be largely the result of social
influences from peers and the media to smoke, drink
alcoholic beverages, or use other drugs. This model aims to
create greater awareness of peer and broader environmental
influences and to develop skills to analyse and minimize
their impact.
In this supplement, we have added “internal
influences” (many of which stem from adolescent
development) as an important factor and have, hence,
conceptualized three levels of influence. Examples of some
of the factors at play within each level of influence
are 6
-
internal influences (e.g., curiosity, emotional
pressures, mental health problems, beliefs concerning
risk and norms)
-
interpersonal influences (e.g., social acceptance,
celebrations and religious observances, difficult life
experiences and family influences)
- media and cultural or environmental influences (e.g., media, community, and cultural norms)
We have tried to make the differences between these types of influences simple and easily understood by 12- to 14-year-olds. The three influencing factors are referred to as “how I influence myself,” “how others influence me,” and “how I am influenced by the world around me” in the actual learning themes of this resource.
Adolescents have a tendency to overestimate how many of their peers engage in substance use. Consistent with the Social Influences Model, this supplement gives strong attention to clarifying for students how many of their peers are—and are not—using substances or using them in risky ways. Through this so-called “normative approach,” the supplement aims to correct these misperceptions of student use and provide support for these norms. A decision-making model is introduced in Healthy Living 7, and opportunities to practise making decisions and acting on them assertively are provided throughout the grades. As identified by the Department of Education requirements and the scientific literature, attention is given to reducing risk factors or increasing protective factors. Recognizing that a significant proportion of Nova Scotian students experience harms as a result of their own or someone else’s use of alcohol, students are given opportunities through the supplement activities to anticipate harmful situations and explore how alcohol-related harms can be avoided or reduced.
6. For discussion of these influences, see Appendix B: Influences Affecting Students’ Substance-use Decisions.