TYSONS, Va., July 17, 2017
/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As the U.S. is facing its most
challenging drug epidemic in history, the need to prevent
adolescence drug misuse is imperative. For the past two years,
Mentor Foundation USA and
George Washington University have
piloted an innovative drug prevention peer-to-peer
initiative at three high schools in Columbia County, NY. The program, which
engages youth through social media is showing some promising
results in terms of shifts in attitudes towards drugs and intent to
use. Read the published report, or download as PDF.
The interactive "multi-media" initiative is
called Living the Example (LTE), a program that
incorporates messages for prevention specifically designed to
counteract the misinformation adolescents have about drugs and
alcohol. Messages are framed to promote the benefits of
prevention behaviors. "This approach to branding, an
alternative, healthy behavior, or 'counter-marketing' as it has
been termed in tobacco control, has been highly effective and is
recognized as one of the main elements in successful prevention
programs, such as in tobacco control," says Principal Investigator,
Dr. Doug Evans, a pioneer in the use
of this strategy. Dr. Evans is a Professor of Prevention and
Community Health & Global Health, with Milken Institute
School of Public Health at George Washington
University.
Youth Ambassadors are trained to create LTE branded prevention
messages, disseminate them via social media platforms, and engage
peers in their preferred social networks, with the intention of
increasing peer interaction around the brand's core
messaging. Positive receptivity to LTE messages was
associated with some evidence of reduced self-reported drug use
intentions, specifically for marijuana use, and reports of intent
to use any drug. Among youth who reported exposure and receptivity
to LTE, they reported a significant decrease in marijuana use
intentions. The most common overall reason for drug use among all
respondents was family stress (81.3%), boredom (40%) and academic
stress (40%).
"Findings from the study suggest that peer-to-peer substance use
prevention via social media is a promising strategy, especially
given the low cost and low burden as an intervention channel, which
schools, communities, and prevention programs can use as an
approach, even in low resource settings," says Michaela Pratt, President of Mentor Foundation
USA. "Through our international
network, Mentor Foundation shares over 20 years of global
experience in best prevention practices, and Mentor Foundation
USA has always been a pioneer in
empowering young people to become their own advocates for drug
prevention."
This program was generously supported by The Conrad N. Hilton
Foundation, Rip Van Winkle Foundation, among local foundations in
Columbia County.
Mentor Foundation USA is a member affiliate of
Mentor International, which was founded in 1994 by Her Majesty
Queen Silvia of Sweden and the
World Health Organization and is the largest network of its kind
for evidence based programs that prevent drug abuse among youth.
Collectively, Mentor has implemented projects in over 80 countries
impacting more than 6 million youth. Mentor Foundation
USA is a Delaware registered 501(c)3 non-profit
organization.
Contact: Michaela Pratt: (571)
458-7050
michaela@mentorfoundationusa.org
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SOURCE Mentor Foundation USA