Preventing the consumption of psychoactive substances and school problems
Francesca Cristini, Luca Scacchi, Massimo Santinello, Elena Bottignolo
This study analysed the effects of a school-based programme designed to prevent alcohol and tobacco
consumption. The programme’s intermediate aim was to reduce the risk factors and to promote
protective factors at school level for alcohol and tobacco consumption. Six junior high schools
implemented the programme over a period of three years. Four similar schools were selected as a
control group. The programme’s effectiveness was assessed by a longitudinal study that involved
students from 11 to 13 years old. The programme’s effects were differentiated between students at risk
and students not at risk in relation to the perception of several variables concerning the relationship
with the school. The fi ndings showed that the students participating in the programme improved the
quality of the relationship with teachers and reduced tobacco and alcohol consumption compared
to the control group students. These changes were even greater in the case of the students at risk.
The implications of these fi ndings in relation to the potential and limits of school-based prevention
programmes are discussed.
Keywords
Prevention, students at risk, alcohol and tobacco consumption, school bonding,
early adolescence.
