Effects of an activity-only substance use prevention intervention on elementary student attitudes and pro-social behaviors

Journal of Elementary Education, Vol 34, No 2 (2024)

Effects of an activity-only substance use prevention intervention on elementary student attitudes and pro-social behaviors

Emma Smith, Rolena Stephenson, Carol Cox

Abstract

The activity-based learning games from the Too Good For Drugs (TGFD) Afterschool Activity Kit were implemented in a rural elementary-level afterschool program of a small Midwest United States school district as a stand-alone intervention – without implementing the structured, classroom-based curriculum that it is to extend and reinforce. The purpose of this study was to examine any pre-post-TGFD program change in participant attitudes towards substance use and teacher-observed pro-social behaviors when used in the afterschool setting and as a stand-alone intervention. After all consents and approvals, 40 students and their 3 certified teachers in the afterschool classrooms participated in the intervention activities and pre-post program qualitative (Draw-Write -Tell Technique) and quantitative (Teacher Checklist of Student Behaviors accompanying the activity kit) assessments.

For six weeks, 45-minute-long activity-based learning games [Examples: Goal setting, Decision-making, Managing emotions, Relationships, and Drug awareness] were taught by local substance use prevention coalition members to student participants. Results of a practical thematic analysis of the qualitative data demonstrated increased negative attitude towards youth substance use as the main themes of ‘drugs are poison’ and ‘do healthier things instead’ became more pronounced with detailed rationale pre-post program. Participants’ teachers documented significant (p<.05) pre-post program positive changes, too, in most social-emotional behaviors including personal behaviors, social behaviors, and pro-social actions. It seems, for these elementary students, that activity and action-based learning, even as a stand-alone curriculum, is a promising strategy for supporting non-substance use attitudes and pro-social behaviors.

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