LifeSkills® Training

This is a school program for the prevention of psychoactive substance use by adolescents between the ages of 11 and 14. The aim is to teach students social and self-management skills, including skills to resist peer pressure and the media, while informing them about the immediate consequences of substance use.
During the class, teachers explain a variety of life skills (for example, giving assertive responses in a social interaction) and demonstrate how to use them in everyday life. Students then practice using those skills in roleplays during class and in behavioral tasks outside of school.

Impact evaluations

Impact evaluation studies have shown that program participants had a statistically significant reduction in multiple drug abuse, drunkenness and drunk driving, aggressive and criminal behavior, less risk of HIV, and better knowledge about smoking and alcoholism [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9].

Bibliographic reference

[1] Botvin, G. J., Baker, E., Dusenbury, L., Tortu, S. & Botvin, E. M. (1990). Preventing adolescent drug abuse through a multimodal cognitive-behavioral approach: Results of a 3-year study. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 58(4), 437–446. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.58.4.437

[2] Botvin, G. J. (1995). Long-term Follow-up Results of a Randomized Drug Abuse Prevention Trial in a White Middle-class Population. JAMA, 273(14), 1106. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.1995.03520380042033

[3] Botvin, G. J., Mihalic, S. F. & Grotpeter, J. K. (1998). Blueprints for violence prevention: Book five: Life skills training. Boulder, CO. Institute of Behavioral Science [University of Colorado, Boulder]. https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/Digitization/174198NCJRS.pdf

[4] Botvin, G. J., Griffin, K. W [K. W.], Diaz, T., Scheier, L. M., Williams, C. & Epstein, J. A. (2000). Preventing illicit drug use in adolescents: Long-term follow-up data from a randomized control trial of a school population. Addictive Behaviors, 25(5), 769–774. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0306-4603(99)00050-7

[5] Griffin, K. W., Botvin, G. J. & Nichols, T. R. (2004). Long-term follow-up effects of a school-based drug abuse prevention program on adolescent risky driving. Prevention Science: The Official Journal of the Society for Prevention Research, 5(3), 207–212. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:PREV.0000037643.78420.74

[6] Griffin, K. W., Botvin, G. J. & Nichols, T. R. (2006). Effects of a school-based drug abuse prevention program for adolescents on HIV risk behavior in young adulthood. Prevention Science: The Official Journal of the Society for Prevention Research, 7(1), 103–112. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-006-0025-6

[7] Spoth, R. L., Randall, G. K., Trudeau, L., Shin, C. & Redmond, C. (2008). Substance use outcomes 5 1/2 years past baseline for partnership-based, family-school preventive interventions. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 96(1-2), 57–68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2008.01.023

[8] Spoth, R., Trudeau, L., Shin, C. & Redmond, C. (2008). Long-term effects of universal preventive interventions on prescription drug misuse. Addiction (Abingdon, England), 103(7), 1160–1168. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1360-0443.2008.02160.x

[9] Trudeau, L., Spoth, R., Lillehoj, C., Redmond, C. & Wickrama, K. A. S. (2003). Effects of a preventive intervention on adolescent substance use initiation, expectancies, and refusal intentions. Prevention Science: The Official Journal of the Society for Prevention Research, 4(2), 109–122. https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1022926332514

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