Media Ready
Problems addressed
Drug abuse
Alcohol abuse
Effectiveness

Promising

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Promising

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Life periods served
Children (4 to 13 years)
Where the program was applied
Education establishment
Country of application
United Kingdom
Description

This is a media education and drug prevention program for students in the sixth to eighth grades of elementary school. The aim is to prevent or delay the onset of tobacco and alcohol abuse among underage youth.
The program seeks to develop critical thinking among students so that they can understand the social pressure present in advertisements for alcohol and tobacco consumption. The intervention consists of 10 sessions facilitated by a teacher, in which students learn fundamental questions to ask of advertisements and skills for analyzing this language and the persuasive devices used.

Impact evaluations

An impact assessment showed that, after the two-week follow-up period, students reported less intention to use tobacco in the future compared to those who did not take part in the intervention. However, there were no statistically significant differences between the groups in the intention to consume alcohol in the future [1].

Bibliographic reference

[1] Kupersmidt, J. B., Scull, T. M. & Benson, J. W. (2012). Improving media message interpretation processing skills to promote healthy decision making about substance use: The effects of the middle school media ready curriculum. Journal of Health Communication, 17(5), 546–563. https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2011.635769

Information source