School-Based Intervention: Preventing Drug Use Among Students

1. The school-based intervention Anna Borucka, Agnieszka Pisarska, Katarzyna Okulicz-Kozaryn Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology Warsaw Presented by: Boguslawa Bukowska Cards 2004 , component 2: National Drug Control Strategy: identification of priorities, designing and implementation of priority projects including training of relevant staff, Zagreb

2. The school-based intervention for students using drug • From 2005 project is in EDDRA base http://eddra.emcdda.europa.eu/pls/eddra/showQuest?Prog_ID=6196 A. Borucka i wsp.

3. Inspiration and sources Increase in drug use among adolescents and lack of school’s procedures to solve these problems Brief intervention method toward alcohol abusing adults School-based intervention method Changes in the educational system in Poland Expectations of teachers and educators A. Borucka i wsp.

4. Supporting and helping students and their parents in solving problems by: delivering information Common activity and proposing particular intervention procedure Preventing the development of the problems related to drug use at school by: introducing the intervention method into school prevention system applying it consequently in all cases of drug use by students Intervention goals A. Borucka i wsp.

5. Intervention elements Diagnosis: to plan an adequate activities toward a drug using student Advice: to clear school standpoint and encourage student to take part in further intervention activities Contract: to enhance students’ motivation to change his/her behavior Contract monitoring: to support the positive changes in student’s behaviour A. Borucka i wsp.

6. Intervention activities Teacher-student - talk (diagnosis, advice) Teacher-student-parents talk (student accepts and negotiates the contract) Teacher-parents talk (diagnosis, advice, working-out the contract) Contract monitoring (sharing information between school and parents) A. Borucka i wsp.

7. How the school – based intervention is implemented in schools?

8. Assumtions concerning the implementation of school – based intervention Multiphases process which requires: • Introducing changes which are systemic in character, • Undertaken the decision by the faculty concerning the implementation of the method • Motivating the teachers to develop their proffessional competencies A. Borucka i wsp.

9. Stage I – Initition • The assessment of motivation for changes’ introduction by individual interviews with chosen school representatives – head master, teacher,parents, students • Investigating former intervention activities A. Borucka i wsp.

10. Stage II – training (4 – hour workshop) Conducting 4-hour workshop for committee of teachers with the following aims: • to strenghten the need of school preventive strategy • to create a team leading changes • to present the school – based intervention • to broaden the knowledge of drug use phases • to discuss legal issues of school’s regulation related to drug use by students A. Borucka i wsp.

11. Stage II– training (10 hour workshop) Preparing of chosen school staff members to hold intervention: • Health and social consequences of drug use • Comunication in conflict situation • Intervention know–how and step by step process focused on practical exercises A. Borucka i wsp.

12. Stage III - Evaluation (June - December 2002) Assessment of the school-based intervention method implementation Evaluation goals Assessment of the intervention method usefulness A. Borucka i wsp.

13. Data analysis Data base: • individual and focus group interviews, • workshops’ reports, • school documents (statutes, signed contracts) Data analysis: • the list of descriptive codes • gradual selection of data (coding by three independent judges) • ascribing numeric indicators to the codes concerning intervention activities A. Borucka i wsp.

14. A. Borucka i wsp.

15. Three groups of interventions • Successful (N=15): • persistent change of behaviour, • lack of evidence of further breaking schools’ rules • Ambivalent (N=12): • toward a group of students  one student + /another - • problem behaviours syndrome  one behaviour +/another - • pending intervention or with unknown results • Failure (N=7): • no positive or short-term effects or • partial positive changes in behaviour A. Borucka i wsp.

16. Usefulness of the method A. Borucka i wsp.

17. Effectiveness The analysis shows that the more elements of the intervention goal – support and assistance, problem – using psychoactive substance, Talking to parents and children , proposal of contract the more likely the achieving the desired results A. Borucka i wsp.

18. Conclusions: 1. School-based intervention method can be useful for school staff and is suitable for their potential skills in great part. 2. Teachers’ helping skills (focus on giving support, empathy, making and keeping a contact) are essential. 3. Intervention implementation is easier in supportive school environment A. Borucka i wsp.

19. Conclusions: 4. Effective application of the school-based intervention method requires: • focus on student occasionally using drugs • co-operation with parents • contract monitoring and supporting parents and student in obeying the contract rules • co-operation between school and external institutions able to give more comprehensive help for students using drugs. A. Borucka i wsp.

20. Our recommendations • Intervention should be taken not only in the situation of using psychoactive substance but also in the case of suspicion of taking drugs • Perceiving of non constructive parents’ behaviour and pupils as defence mechanisms A. Borucka i wsp.

21. Our recommendations contd • Perceiving as a success not only the final result but also the fact of undertaking the intrevention regarding pupils • Abandoning both the investigation as well as establishing and punishing the perpetrators. • Team work among the members of the faculty. A. Borucka i wsp.

22. Bibliography • Borucka, A., Kocoń, K. (2003). Interwencja w szkole, Remedium 7-8(125-126), 10-13. • Borucka, A., Okulicz-Kozaryn, K., Pisarska, A. (2003). Ocena przydatności i funkcjonowania metody interwencji profilaktycznej w szkole. Medycyna Wieku Rozwojowego, t.VII, 157-172. • Okulicz-Kozaryn, K., Pisarska, A., Borucka, A. (2003). Szkolna interwencja wobec uczniów sięgających po substancje psychoaktywne. Serwis Informacyjny Narkomania, 3 (22), 27-34. • Okulicz-Kozaryn, K., Borucka, A., Pisarska, A. (2003). Wprowadzenie do szkół metody interwencji wobec ucznia sięgającego po środki psychoaktywne – bariery we współpracy z rodzicami i ich pokonywanie. Medycyna Wieku Rozwojowego, t.VII, 173-192. • Pisarska, A., Jakubowska, L. (2004). Interwencja profilaktyczna w odbiorze uczniów. Remedium, 5 (135), s. 1-3. • Pisarska, A., Jakubowska, L. (2004). Szkolna interwencja w odbiorze uczniów. W: A. Szymanowska (red.), Alkohol a zachowania problemowe młodzieży. Opinie i badania, s. 46-53. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Edukacyjne PARPA. • Borucka A., Pisarska A., Okulicz-Kozaryn K.: (2005): Szkolna interwencja profilaktyczna Profilaktyka w szkole. Poradnik dla nauczyciela. Centrum Metodyczne Pomocy Psychologiczno-Pedagogicznej. Warszawa, 52-67. A. Borucka i wsp.

23. Badania w działaniu Schools recruitment N=11 2 primary, 6 junior high 3 secondary Diagnosis of situation in schools Individual interviews Training for: the faculties (N=450) selected teachers.(N=70) Analysis of training reports Methods in practice Analysis of: School documents (statutes, contracts) Information form group interviews A. Borucka i wsp.