Tatiana Andreeva, MD, PhD,

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DEVELOPMENT OF PREVENTION EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS
FOR TEACHERS AND PEER LEADERS ORIENTED ON YOUTH
PROBLEMS AND VALUES

• Tatiana Andreeva, MD, PhD,
• Konstantin Krasovsky, PhD
• Kazan Public Foundation Choice, Russian
  Federation
• Alcohol and Drug Information Center, Ukraine

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The project goal

• To create instruments, which will let teachers
  and peer leaders to address intoxicants-related
  problems in young peoples lives and to deal with
  the situation where substances of abuse are seen
  as a means to solve psychological problems and to
  meet natural needs of teenagers training
  materials which could be used in work with
  teenagers to show them other ways to satisfy
  their needs and to solve their problems instead
  of intoxicants.

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The project objectives are

• To reveal and analyze intoxicants-related youth
  problems.
• To develop the instrument to address these
  problems in youth relevant way.
• To train teachers to use the prepared kit in
  class.

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Short description of the method
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The preconditions of the approach (1)

• 1. Active participation of the teenager in
  discussion is more effective, than his passive
  listening to a lecture. Role playing is one of
  the most productive ways to develop life skills
  and behavioral strategies.

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The preconditions of the approach (2)

• 2. The game is familiar to everybody since early
  childhood, comparing to such activity, as the
  analysis and understanding of the complex text.
  The game entertains, easily attracts and keeps
  attention. The approach therefore is applicable
  and is recommended for rather young participants,
  does not impose special requirements to the
  audience.

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The preconditions of the approach(3)

• 3. Participating in a situation, the teenager
  brings in his own senses, attitudes, values,
  which he subsequently discusses. The offered
  typical situations are stimulus for projections,
  enable to look at stereotyped behavior from
  aside, as at the play. The developed situations
  are very close to realities of teenagers life,
  they are not imposed by the adults, the
  discussions concern the most essential problems
  of the teenagers.

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The preconditions of the approach (4)

• 4. Individuals act as social and cultural norms
  dictate, because it seems "self-evident". To
  realize stereotyped behavioral patterns and ways
  to solve problems is the possibility to be
  released from their compulsion. The formation of
  drug free (tobacco free and especially alcohol
  free) lifestyle is very closely connected to
  change of cultural norms and systems of symbols.

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The preconditions of the approach (5)

• 5. The problem of smoking, drinking and drug
  taking is frequently not perceived as a problem
  itself. It is rather a way to solve other
  important and vital issues - conflicts in family,
  relations with a peer group. Paying attention to
  these emotionally significant relations, we get
  an opportunity to realize the place of legal and
  illegal drugs in this issues, to show their
  symbolical, rather than chemical value.

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Target group of life situations method

• Main target group
• Teenagers from 12 to 15 years old
• Intermediary target group
• Peer leaders older teenagers, students, young
  adults
• Mediated target group
• Other teenagers
• Parents and other family members

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Course structure

• Invitation
• Sessions
• Creation of peer leaders team
• Peer leaders work supervision

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Forms of use of life situations approach to
substance abuse prevention

• Single session form
• Series of sessions form

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Components of one session.

• Preparations and expectations.
• Acquaintance and contact
• Schedule. Mutual plans determination
• Topic and situation choice
• Funnel questions. Invitation to the play
• Story. Roles
• Scenery. Performance
• Role exit
• Discussion questions and answers
• Summary

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Single session

• Advantages
• Requires less time and preparation
• Possibility to work with more teenager groups or
  school classes
• Possibility not to continue sessions in case of a
  failure
• Disadvantages
• Limited possibility to influence the behavior of
  the group
• Impossibility to train youth leaders
• The arousing questions stay without answers
• Impossibility to evaluate effectiveness

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Tasks to be solved in series of sessions.

• Testing of the method
• Use as a scheduled school discipline
• Creation of a system of prevention in an
  educational setting
• Use of the method in a teenager club

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A sequence of topics in a series of sessions

• Tobacco
• Alcohol
• Illegal drugs

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A sequence of topics in a series of sessions.

• First most safe situations are to be proposed
  with not much requirement to role playing, just
  some questions-answers and discussion.
• Several situations with obvious social conflict
  connected with tobacco, alcohol or illegal drugs
  which cause emotional response but do not need
  much psychological elaboration.
• When group dynamics come to the stage of
  conflicts in the group special story Prevention
  is proposed.
• If the conflict is successfully overcome then
  several stories on peer relations and family
  relations are proposed.

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Series of sessions. Advantages.

• Atmosphere of trust and stable psychological
  contact between trainer and the group is possible
• More effective than a single session
• Possibility to divide one topic into several
  sessions
• More personal experience can be involved and
  worked through
• Possibility to see behavioral changes and to
  correct negative trends
• Possibility of feedback and corrections

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Series of sessions. Disadvantages.

• Higher requirements for the trainer
• Require regular time and efforts
• When the session is announced it should be
  conducted despite of desire of the group
• Regular sessions can be perceived as imposed from
  outside both by the trainer and the group

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Further activities

• Tobacco ads critical analysis
• Anti-tobacco posters competitions
• Population surveys
• Parents meetings
• Participation of the teenagers in the amateur
  editions
• Creation of your own approaches

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Evaluation. Formative evaluation.

• Group characteristics
• Percentage of boys and girls
• Smoking status, other drugs use experience
• Subgroups, their relations
• Special problems
• Experience of preventive programs
• Evaluation of a single session

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Evaluation of a single session.

• What did you learn through the session?
• What did you like and what you didnt like?
• Would you like to participate in more sessions
  like this?
• What would you like to change in the following
  sessions?
• What would you like to discuss during the next
  session?
• What would you like to do before the following
  session?

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Process evaluation

• Quality of contact
• Teenagers attitude to the session and role
  playing
• Progression of discussion
• Desire to meet again

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Outcome evaluation

• Conclusions by the audience
• Teenagers desire to participate actively and to
  change intoxicants use situation around them
• Surveys results shifts

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Advantages. Prevention point of view.

• The maximal mastering of the information
• Active involvement of all the participants of the
  target group
• Stereotypes comprehension
• Long-term effect
• Safety
• Adjustment for a certain target group

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Advantages. Adolescent point of view.

• Dialogue on equal
• Opportunity to display own individuality
• Non-authoritarian style

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Advantages. Trainers point of view.

• Cost-effectiveness
• Compactness
• Multi-alternativeness
• Opportunity to involve various pedagogical
  personnel
• Opportunity to involve peer leaders
• Opportunity of use in the advanced audience

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Disadvantages of the method.

• Special requirements to the trainers motivation
  and attitude
• Non applicability with numerous groups