The Drug Resistance Strategies Project (DRS), a program funded by the

National Institute on Drug Abuse The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is a United States federal government research institute whose mission is to "advance science on the causes and consequences of drug use and addiction and to apply that knowledge to improve individual a ...

(NIDA), teaches adolescents and pre-adolescents how to make decisions and resist

alcohol Alcohol most commonly refers to: * Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom * Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks Alcohol may also refer to: Chemicals * Ethanol, one of sev ...

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

, and other

drug A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via insuffla ...

s (ATOD). The DRS project was one of the first programs to examine how

adolescents Adolescence () is a transitional stage of physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with the te ...

refused offers of substances. Adolescent narratives revealed for resistance strategies—Refuse, Explain, Avoid, and Leave that became known as the REAL strategies. These narratives became the basis for a multicultural school-based substance use prevention program, keepin’ it REAL (kiR). To reduce the likelihood that

youth Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood ( maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as being a young adult. You ...

will engage in ATOD, the kiR lessons include personal stories and language that

find familiar, along with teaching effective

risk assessment Broadly speaking, a risk assessment is the combined effort of: # identifying and analyzing potential (future) events that may negatively impact individuals, assets, and/or the environment (i.e. hazard analysis); and # making judgments "on the to ...

, decision making,

communication Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inquir ...

, and life skills including the REAL strategies. Middle and

elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...

s are currently implementing kiR in the following states:

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, and

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

. In 2006, the

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA; pronounced ) is a branch of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is charged with improving the quality and availability of treatment and rehabilitative services ...

's National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices selected kiR as a “Model Program” for its culturally grounded substance use

prevention Prevention may refer to: Health and medicine * Preventive healthcare, measures to prevent diseases or injuries rather than curing them or treating their symptoms General safety * Crime prevention, the attempt to reduce deter crime and crimi ...

curriculum.

History

In the 1980s, Drs. Michelle Miller-Day and Michael Hecht’s research in interpersonal and interethnic communication at

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

led them to use narrative and performance theories to study how people's personal stories promote

reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

, prevent

date rape Date rape is a form of acquaintance rape and dating violence. The two phrases are often used interchangeably, but date rape specifically refers to a rape in which there has been some sort of romantic or potentially sexual relationship between ...

, and develop positive familial attitudes. They first obtained funding from NIDA and launched the Project (DRS1) in 1989. Initial research was conducted in two

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

s in

. With this work, Miller-Day and Hecht identified the four resistance strategies (Refuse, Avoid, Explain, and Leave) that are the core of the DRS Project. Since then the project expanded to include middle and

students and to address

ethnicity An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...

and

gender Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most cultures u ...

. In 1997, Hecht moved to the

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...

where he continued the Drug Resistance Strategies Project in collaboration with colleagues from

. The project developed, implemented, and evaluated a

middle school A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...

curriculum. More specifically, Hecht and his colleagues created keepin’ it REAL and field tested the curriculum, which they later implemented in thirty five middle schools in

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

. KiR was successful in limiting use of

, and

marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...

between 7th and 8th grades. Starting in 2003, they have been working under a new

grant Grant or Grants may refer to: Places *Grant County (disambiguation) Australia * Grant, Queensland, a locality in the Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia United Kingdom *Castle Grant United States * Grant, Alabama *Grant, Inyo County, C ...

from the

. The current research concentrates on determining the best grade level to introduce the prevention program (5th vs. 7th grade), including

implementation in addition to

. In addition, work on DRS4 continues the long-term study examining the relationships among

acculturation Acculturation is a process of social, psychological, and cultural change that stems from the balancing of two cultures while adapting to the prevailing culture of the society. Acculturation is a process in which an individual adopts, acquires and ...

, decision-making, different types of norms,

identity Identity may refer to: * Identity document * Identity (philosophy) * Identity (social science) * Identity (mathematics) Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Identity'' (1987 film), an Iranian film * ''Identity'' (2003 film), ...

, family structure, parent-child communication, and drug use. In 2012, Dr. Michelle Miller-Day moved to

Chapman University Chapman University is a private research university in Orange, California. It encompasses ten schools and colleges, including Fowler School of Engineering, Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, Fowler School of Law, and Schmid College of Scie ...

where she continues to work closely with

on the Drug Resistance Strategies Project.

Results

The findings from this project are in numerous journals of

health Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...

prevention science Prevention science is the application of a scientific methodology that seeks to prevent or moderate major human dysfunctions before they occur. Regardless of the type of issue on hand, the factors that lead to the problem must be identified and ...

, and

social work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work ...

. The publications contain all aspects covered by the project; some of them being the principle of

cultural Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human Society, societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, and habits of the ...

grounding in school-based substance use prevention seen in the

Journal of Language and Social Psychology ''Journal of Language and Social Psychology'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal that publishes papers in the fields of Communication and Psychology. The journal's editor is Howard Giles (University of California Santa Barbara). It has been in pu ...

and promoting reduced and discontinued substances among adolescent substance users, seen in the

Prevention Science Prevention science is the application of a scientific methodology that seeks to prevent or moderate major human dysfunctions before they occur. Regardless of the type of issue on hand, the factors that lead to the problem must be identified and ...

. Some of the work done on culture can be seen through the publication on

vs.

ethnic identity An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...

in assessing what predicts substance use, norms, and

behavior Behavior (American English) or behaviour (British English) is the range of actions and mannerisms made by individuals, organisms, systems or artificial entities in some environment. These systems can include other systems or organisms as wel ...

s, and a study of and acculturation status substance use prevention with

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

and

Mexican American Mexican Americans ( es, mexicano-estadounidenses, , or ) are Americans of full or partial Mexican heritage. In 2019, Mexican Americans comprised 11.3% of the US population and 61.5% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexica ...

youth, both seen in the Journal of Social Work Practice in the Addictions. The use of

, and

was compared using a self-reported

quantity Quantity or amount is a property that can exist as a Counting, multitude or Magnitude (mathematics), magnitude, which illustrate discontinuity (mathematics), discontinuity and continuum (theory), continuity. Quantities can be compared in terms o ...

of frequency of use before the program and at two, eight, and fourteen months after students completed the

curriculum In education, a curriculum (; : curricula or curriculums) is broadly defined as the totality of student experiences that occur in the educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned sequence of instruction, or to a view ...

. Participants in the program reported a lower use of the three substances than the students who did not receive the program. Effects lasted for up to 14 months for

and

use and up to 8 months for

cigarette A cigarette is a narrow cylinder containing a combustible material, typically tobacco, that is rolled into thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end, causing it to smolder; the resulting smoke is orally inhaled via the opp ...

s. Other

analysis Analysis ( : analyses) is the process of breaking a complex topic or substance into smaller parts in order to gain a better understanding of it. The technique has been applied in the study of mathematics and logic since before Aristotle (38 ...

show that the program works on adolescents who have started using substances before keepin’ it REAL as well as those who have not. Anti-substance attitudes were also found to be effected by the program. At the 8 and 14-month follow-ups, the program participants reported lower expectations of positive consequences of substance use compared with students who did not receive the intervention. Although the intervention had no effect on

perception Perception () is the organization, identification, and interpretation of sensory information in order to represent and understand the presented information or environment. All perception involves signals that go through the nervous system ...

s of parental or peer norms, students who received the program curriculum reported lower personal acceptance of drug use for up to eight months after the intervention. When compared to the control students, students who received the

version of the curriculum reported smaller increases in estimates of the number of their friends who used drugs.

References

* Alberts, J.K., Miller-Rassulo, & Hecht, M.L. (1991). A typology of drug resistance strategies. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 19, 129-151. * Alberts, J.K., Hecht, M.L., Miller-Rassulo, M., & Krizek, R.L. (1992). The communicative process of drug resistance among high school students. Adolescence, 27, 203-226. * Gosin, M., Marsiglia, F.F., & Hecht, M.L. (2003) Keepin’ it REAL: A drug resistance curriculum tailored to the strengths and needs of pre-adolescents of the Southwest. The Journal of Drug Education, 33, 2, 119-142. * Hecht, M.L., & Driscoll, G. (1994). A comparison of the communication, social, situational, and individual factors associated with alcohol and other drugs. International Journal of the Addictions, 29, 1225-1243. * Hecht, M.L., Graham, J.W. & Elek, E. (2006). The Drug Resistance Strategies Intervention: Program Effects on Substance Use. Health Communication, 20, 267-276. * Hecht, M.L., & Johnson, A. (2005). keepin’ it R.E.A.L.: A Culturally Grounded Substance Abuse Prevention Curriculum. Behavioral Health Management, 25, 45-48.

External links

Official WebsiteAn intervention summary of keepin’ it REAL can be found on SAMHSA’s National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices
Drug control law in the United States Health education in the United States National Institutes of Health