Expanding Computer-Based Drug Abuse Prevention
Recent evidence indicates that the prevalence of substance abuse is significant among children and adolescents, and initiation of drug use is occurring at very early ages. These findings suggest the need for appropriate prevention interventions for children at an early age and continuation throughout middle school and later years. An earlier phase of this study demonstrated the scientific and technical feasibility of a prototype of an interactive, computer-based drug abuse prevention program for elementary school-aged children, called HeadOn: Making Good Choices for Grades 3-5. The current grant funds the completion of the program-based program, as well as a multi-site, school-based evaluation to determine the effectiveness of the program in increasing knowledge of substance abuse, preventing initiation of substance use and enhancing protective factors against substance abuse.