EFFECTIVENESS OF THE PROGRAMS UNPLUGGED AND UNPLUGGED 2 ON ALCOHOL USE AND SMOKING AMONG SCHOOLCHILDREN

"Objectives: The aim of the study is to examine the long-term effectiveness of the school-based drug prevention programs Unplugged and Unplugged2 using a Solomon design and supplemented with n-Prevention booster sessions on the cumulative index (CI) of reported alcohol use (AU) and smoking. Methods: In 2013/2014, Unplugged was implemented during 12 consecutive weeks in Slovak primary schools. A sample of 744(M=12.5; 58.72%girls) was collected before program implementation(T1) and 12months later(T3). In 2017/2018, Unplugged2 was implemented by each school over 6months. A sample of 408(M=14.48; 51.96%girls) was collected before program implementation (T1), immediately after implementation(T2) and 12months later(T3). Participation in Unplugged was divided into control and experimental groups and Unplugged2 into control, experimental and experimental groups with n-Prevention, a pre-test and post-test or with post-test only. CI in the past 30 days was dichotomized (0-not used,1-AU, smoking or both). Binary logistic regressions were used to analyze the data at every measurement point. The moderation effect of gender was examined. The CI at T1 in Unplugged and Unplugged2 with a pre-test and post-test, and CI at T2 in Unplugged2 with a post-test were used as the control variables. Results: There was no significant effect of Unplugged and Unplugged2 with the pre-test and post-test. Unplugged2 with a post-test was significantly associated with CI at T3. The experimental group with n- Prevention was less likely to use alcohol and/or smoke. There was no significant effect or moderation effect of gender. Conclusions: The results show the long-term effectiveness of a preventive program is more pronounced with booster sessions, specifically with the post-test design."