Increase in drug use slows when students learn 'how' to say no to drugs

University Park, Pa. -- As drug abuse continues to take its toll on this nation's youth, teaching students `how' to say no to drugs is showing positive results, according to a Penn State study. Researchers report that Arizona students in The Keepin' it R.E.A.L. project are drawing on their own strength and that of others to recognize the risks of drug abuse and learn to live drug-free lives. R.E.A.L., an acronym for the four different ways of refusing drug offers -- Refuse, Explain, Avoid and Leave -- was developed to find ways of decreasing adolescent drug use. "Instead of telling students `just to say no,' the program's main focus is in teaching students `how' to say no," says Dr. Michael L. Hecht, professor of speech communication at Penn State.

The R.E.A.L. method lies at the core of the school-based Drug Resistance Strategies Minority Project, a $3.2 million program funded since 1989 by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and offered to 4,600 seventh-grade students at 35 middle schools in Phoenix, Ariz. Two student surveys revealed that the program slowed the rate of increase in 8th graders' alcohol use by 75 percent per month; slowed the increase in cigarette smoking by 81 percent a month; and slowed the increase in marijuana use by 63 percent per month.

"Although the project was completed in the last academic year, many schools in Phoenix are continuing to use the Keepin' it R.E.A.L. program," Hecht says.

With a team of researchers and educators in Arizona and Pennsylvania, Hecht and Flavio F. Marsiglia, associate professor of social work at Arizona State University, jointly developed the 10-week, 10-lesson program that helps students learn four drug resistance strategies, as well as other decision-making and life skills:

--Refuse drugs ("No, I don't want to smoke that");

--Explain why ('No, I don't want to smoke that because it makes me sick");

--Avoid the situation (Stay away from places where there are drugs); and

--Leave (Go somewhere else).

Before starting the R.E.A.L. project, Hecht and Marsiglia found that young people benefit from school-based prevention programs if: (1) the programs are culturally sensitive; (2.) the programs include resistance and life skills components created from teens' own perspectives; (3.) the programs are presented in narrative form through multiple, interactive delivery methods; and (4.) the programs combine both a narrative format and drug information.

In keeping with these objectives, videos and public service announcements were produced by youths for youths. Researchers worked with South Mountain High School students to create a series of videos which portray teenagers' stories of resisting drug offers and bring "saying no" to life for the younger students. Not only were the videos widely accepted by the seventh graders, but they also won several awards, including the Rocky Mountain Emmy Award for 1999-2000.

The Keepin' it R.E.A.L. approach is centered on the cultural norms of the targeted ethnic groups: Mexican-American, European-American and African-American, and avoids stereotypical portrayals of ethnicity. For instance, R.E.A.L. takes into account the greater likelihood that Latinos will use the Explain resistance strategy rather than Refuse, which is more direct and may be seen as disrespectful behavior in Latin culture.

At the suggestion of those teachers involved, all class materials were made available in Spanish since 70 percent of the student population is Latina/Latino, and Spanish is the first language of many students. In the classroom, the program promotes interaction between students and teachers as students learn to use the R.E.A.L. techniques, discuss norms and risks, and learn to make healthy decisions. Teachers noted that a major strength of the program is the positive impact of actual students modeling target behaviors in the videos.

The most powerful testimony to R.E.A.L.'s effectiveness came from the students themselves. Dylan, 13, recalls, "I was at this boy's house seeing a friend. We were all smoking tobacco and this guy pulled out some dope. He started smoking that. He asked all of us if we wanted to and we said no. We went outside and then came back in and he was still smoking. He kept after us, saying we were losers, but we just left and me and my friend never went back."

EDITORS: Dr. Hecht is at 814-865-3461 or mhecht@psu.edu by email.