The Effects of School-Based Substance Abuse Education — A Meta-Analysis

Since the late 1960s, evaluators have examined the use of school-based alcohol and drug education programs as a means of substance abuse prevention. Narrative reviews of these evaluations agree on two points. The evaluations are generally of poor quality and they do not provide evidence that substance abuse education reduces drug use. This study used meta-analysis to review a carefully selected sample of evaluations in this area. Outcomes of thirty-three evaluations were statistically integrated. The meta-analysis showed that typical substance abuse education had its most positive effects on knowledge and attitudes, but was unsuccessful in changing the drug-using behaviors of students. Attitudinal effects were significantly higher when peers were used as instructional leaders and when group discussion was part of the instructional method. Furthermore, students who volunteered for substance abuse education reported lower drug use after treatment than did students who were required to participate in such programs.

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Effective Components of School-Based Prevention Programs for Child Abuse: A Meta-Analytic Review

Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review ◽

10.1007/s10567-021-00353-5 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Jeanne Gubbels ◽

Claudia E. van der Put ◽

Geert-Jan J. M. Stams ◽

Mark Assink

Keyword(s):

Child Abuse ◽

Program Effectiveness ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Prevention Programs ◽

Effect Sizes ◽

Positive Effects ◽

School Based ◽

Analytic Review ◽

Program Components ◽

Self Protection

AbstractSchool-based programs seem promising for child abuse prevention. However, research mainly focused on sexual child abuse and knowledge is lacking on how individual program components contribute to the effectiveness of school-based prevention programs for any form of child abuse. This study aimed to examine the overall effect of these school-based programs on (a) children’s child abuse-related knowledge and (b) self-protection skills by conducting two three-level meta-analyses. Furthermore, moderator analyses were performed to identify how program components and delivery techniques were associated with effectiveness. A literature search yielded 34 studies (158 effect sizes; N = 11,798) examining knowledge of child abuse and 22 studies (99 effect sizes; N = 7804) examining self-protection skills. A significant overall effect was found of school-based programs on both knowledge (d = 0.572, 95% CI [0.408, 0.737], p < 0.001) and self-protection skills (d = 0.528, 95% CI [0.262, 0.794], p < 0.001). The results of the first meta-analysis on children’s child abuse knowledge suggest that program effects were larger in programs addressing social–emotional skills of children (d = 0.909 for programs with this component versus d = 0.489 for programs without this component) and self-blame (d = 0.776 versus d = 0.412), and when puppets (d = 1.096 versus d = 0.500) and games or quizzes (d = 0.966 versus d = 0.494) were used. The second meta-analysis on children’s self-protections skills revealed that no individual components or techniques were associated with increased effectiveness. Several other study and program characteristics did moderate the overall effects and are discussed. In general, school-based prevention programs show positive effects on both knowledge and self-protection skills, and the results imply that program effectiveness can be improved by implementing specific components and techniques.

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Students' Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Substance Abuse Education: The Impact of Different Delivery Modes

10.31234/osf.io/f6ym9 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Cass Dykeman ◽

J. Ron Nelson

Keyword(s):

Substance Abuse ◽

Effective Means ◽

Alcohol Prevention ◽

Delivery Mode ◽

Delivery Modes ◽

School Based ◽

Substance Abuse Education ◽

The Impact ◽

Drug And Alcohol ◽

Type Of Delivery

Ninety-six students, 12 boys and 12 girls each from the 3rd, 6th, 8th, and 12th grades were interviewed regarding the effectiveness of various delivery modes commonly employed in substance abuse education. These delivery modes included (a) expert-red, (b) teacher-led, (c) peer-led, and (d) parent in-home. Students generally believed that each type of delivery mode would positively effect drug- and alcohol-related knowledge but not behavior. Furthermore, students believed that the expert-led mode would be the most effective means for positively effecting the drug- and alcohol-related knowledge of students. The implications of these results for school-based drug and alcohol prevention efforts are discussed.

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The Enduring Effects of Parental Alcohol, Tobacco, and Drug Use on Child Well-being: A Multilevel Meta-Analysis

Development and Psychopathology ◽

10.1017/s0954579419000749 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 32 (2) ◽

pp. 765-778

Author(s):

Sofie Kuppens ◽

Simon C. Moore ◽

Vanessa Gross ◽

Emily Lowthian ◽

Andy P. Siddaway

Keyword(s):

Substance Abuse ◽

Alcohol Use ◽

Drug Use ◽

Family System ◽

Parental Behavior ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Well Being ◽

Psychoactive Substance ◽

Entire Family ◽

Parental Alcohol

AbstractThe effects of psychoactive substance abuse are not limited to the user, but extend to the entire family system, with children of substance abusers being particularly at risk. This meta-analysis attempted to quantify the longitudinal relationship between parental alcohol, tobacco, and drug use and child well-being, investigating variation across a range of substance and well-being indices and other potential moderators. We performed a literature search of peer-reviewed, English language, longitudinal observational studies that reported outcomes for children aged 0 to 18 years. In total, 56 studies, yielding 220 dependent effect sizes, met inclusion criteria. A multilevel random-effects model revealed a statistically significant, small detriment to child well-being for parental substance abuse over time (r = .15). Moderator analyses demonstrated that the effect was more pronounced for parental drug use (r = .25), compared with alcohol use (r = .13), tobacco use (r = .13), and alcohol use disorder (r = .14). Results highlight a need for future studies that better capture the effect of parental psychoactive substance abuse on the full breadth of childhood well-being outcomes and to integrate substance abuse into models that specify the precise conditions under which parental behavior determines child well-being.Registration: PROSPERO CRD42017076088

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Investigating the Effects of Tablet-Based Math Interventions: A Meta-Analysis

International Journal of Technology in Education and Science ◽

10.46328/ijtes.266 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 5 (4) ◽

pp. 629-647

Author(s):

Kathleen B. Aspiranti ◽

Karen H. Larwin

Keyword(s):

Economic Status ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Group Discussion ◽

Control Group ◽

Design Studies ◽

Math Interventions ◽

Group Design ◽

Positive Effects ◽

Design Variables ◽

Significant Moderator

There is debate over the effectiveness of using touch-screen tablet technology on overall student learning gains. This article provides a meta-analysis of studies that used tablets for the delivery of math interventions, programs, or apps to increase student math achievement. A total of 20 group design studies with 2,805 participants were included in the meta-analysis. Overall, tablet-based math interventions provided moderate positive effects for student math gains. Significant moderator variables included participant ethnicity, and socio-economic status, selecting a specific app for use, minutes in intervention, dependent variable, and type of control group. Discussion focuses on the need for more rigorous methodology and reporting of participant and design variables in future studies and the implications for researchers and practitioners when using tablets as a delivery method for math interventions.

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Components of School-Based Interventions Stimulating Students’ Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Domains: A Meta-analysis

Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review ◽

10.1007/s10567-020-00328-y ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 23 (4) ◽

pp. 605-631 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Esther Mertens ◽

Maja Deković ◽

Patty Leijten ◽

Monique Van Londen ◽

Ellen Reitz

Keyword(s):

Meta Analysis ◽

Self Esteem ◽

Self Awareness ◽

Learning Approaches ◽

Group Discussions ◽

Intervention Effects ◽

Positive Effects ◽

School Based ◽

Registration Number ◽

School Based Interventions

Abstract Many universal school-based interventions aim to stimulate students’ intrapersonal (e.g., self-esteem) and interpersonal (e.g., school climate) domains. To improve our understanding of why some of these interventions yield stronger effects than others, we identified intervention components that are related to stronger or weaker intervention effects. We systematically searched four databases (i.e., PsycINFO, PubMed, ERIC, CENTRAL) for controlled evaluations of universal school-based interventions. In total, 104 included studies (529 included effect sizes) reported on 99 unique interventions. Interventions showed small positive effects on the intrapersonal (d = 0.19) and interpersonal (d = 0.15) domains. Focusing on self-awareness and problem solving, using more active learning approaches, and using more extensive interventions predicted stronger intervention effects on aspects of both domains. In contrast, efforts to improve emotion regulation, assertiveness, cognitive coping, and using group discussions predicted weaker intervention effects. Furthermore, commonly implemented components were not necessarily related to stronger intervention effects and components that were related to stronger effects were not necessarily often implemented. Our findings highlight the need to carefully select components for inclusion in interventions. PROSPERO Registration Number: CRD42019137981.

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