Academic Standards
SECOND STEP: Student Success Through Prevention Program Alignment with Best Practices in Substance Abuse Prevention
The SECOND STEP middle school program is based on one of the fundamental principles of effective prevention: reducing risk factors and increasing protective factors linked to substance abuse (Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development [ASCD], 2003; National Institute on Drug Abuse [NIDA], 2003; Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration [SAMHSA], 2001). Here are some ways the program uses this principle and best practices to promote substance abuse prevention.
Protective Factors
Social skills. The curriculum maintains a major focus on building students’ social skills.
School connectedness. The program fosters students’ connection to school by giving them the skills to improve their relationships with peers and staff, improving the overall school climate, and improving students’ success at school.
Adoption of conventional norms about drug abuse. Students learn about the negative consequences of using drugs and alcohol, receive corrective information to help reduce overestimation of peer use, and make a specific commitment to avoid abuse.
Risk Factors
Inappropriate classroom behavior, such as aggression and impulsivity. The program addresses these behaviors with lesson content about staying in control, interpersonal problem solving, empathy, and emotion management.
Favorable attitudes toward substance abuse. Students learn about the negative consequences of using drugs and alcohol, receive corrective information to help reduce overestimation of peer use, and make a specific commitment to avoid use.
Friendships with others who engage in substance abuse. The curriculum helps improve students’ social skills, provides cooperative activities that bring diverse students together, and helps reduce bullying while improving school climate.
Early initiation of substance abuse. The program begins substance abuse prevention during a critical developmental period, thereby reducing early initiation, which is a major risk factor for later problems.
Peer rewards for antisocial behavior. The program features content that focuses on changing peer norms and behaviors that support bullying, aggression, substance abuse, and other problem behaviors.
Peer rejection. The curriculum helps reduce peer rejection using social-skills training, anti-bullying content, increased student empathy, and cooperative group activities.
Impulsiveness. Impulsive behavior is addressed with content about emotion management and problem solving, improved self-talk skills, and considering the consequences of actions.
Best Practices
In addition to targeting risk and protective factors, the SECOND STEP middle school program follows the best practices in the field of school-based substance abuse prevention in other ways.
Skills. The research about substance abuse prevention highlights the importance of a broad-based approach to skills development and education. In line with this research, the SECOND STEP middle school program helps students build their skills in problem solving, decision making and goal setting; stress management; communication; assertiveness; and self-efficacy (ASCD, 2003; NIDA, 2003; SAMHSA, 2001). In addition, the program goes beyond booster sessions, which is how many substance abuse prevention programs are delivered in subsequent years. This multi-year approach helps youth retain and strengthen their skills in ongoing lessons each year of middle school (SAMHSA, 2001).
Commitments. Each of the three years of the SECOND STEP middle school program includes a specific focus on strengthening students’ personal commitments against substance abuse (NIDA, 2003).
Normative education. Teens typically overestimate how many of their peers are involved in substance abuse, which influences their own attitudes and behaviors. The program addresses this issue using normative education that includes statistics about youth their age and classroom activities designed to correct misperceptions (ASCD, 2003; SAMHSA, 2001).
Resisting peer influence. The broad-based skills-training approach of the program includes communication, assertiveness, decision-making, and problem solving skills, all of which empower students to make their own choices and stand up to pressure from peers (ASCD, 2003; NIDA, 2003).
Consequences. Education on the consequences associated with substance abuse is central to strengthening students’ commitments to avoid use (ASCD, 2003). The curriculum provides information on a range of consequences, both short- and long term, and engages them in identifying the negative consequences most meaningful to them.
Interactive learning. Research shows that lessons using interactive techniques that involve students are the most effective (ASCD, 2003; NIDA, 2003; SAMHSA, 2001). The SECOND STEP middle school program uses a wide range of interactive approaches to help students learn new skills and information including pair and group discussion, active skill practice, and group activities and challenges.
References
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. (2003, December 23). Characteristics of effective substance abuse prevention programs. Research Brief, 1(26). Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/researchbrief/volume1/v1n26.html
National Institute on Drug Abuse (2003). Preventing drug use among children and adolescents: A research-based guide for parents, educators, and community leaders. (2nd ed.; NIH Publication No. 04-4212A). Bethesda, MD: Author.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (2001). Principles of substance abuse prevention. Retrieved from http://www.nrepp.samhsa.gov/pdfs/pubs_Principles.pdf
