Take Charge of Your Life (TCYL)
Problems addressed
Drug abuse
Alcohol abuse
Effectiveness

Negative Effect

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Negative Effect

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Life periods served
Teenagers (14 to 17 years)
Where the program was applied
Education establishment
Country of application
United States
Description

This is a school program to prevent psychoactive substance use by students in the seventh to ninth grades. The aim is to prevent the use of cigarettes, alcohol, cannabis, and other drugs in childhood and adolescence.
The program focuses on the personal, social, and legal risks and consequences associated with drug abuse, and offers training to develop communication, decision-making, assertiveness, and self-control skills.
The intervention takes place through group discussions, the application of roleplay techniques, and activities to be done at home.

Impact evaluations

An impact assessment showed that, after the five-year follow-up period, students who participated in the program used more alcohol and cigarettes, with more episodes of binge-drinking, compared to similar groups of students who did not receive the intervention. There were no statistically significant differences in cannabis use [1].

Bibliographic reference

[1] Sloboda, Z., Stephens, R. C., Stephens, P. C., Grey, S. F., Teasdale, B., Hawthorne, R. D., Williams, J. & Marquette, J. F. (2009). The Adolescent Substance Abuse Prevention Study: A randomized field trial of a universal substance abuse prevention program. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 102(1-3), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2009.01.015

Information source