Newton, N.C., Andrews, G., Champion, K.E., & Teesson, M. (2014). Universal Internet-based prevention for alcohol and cannabis use reduces truancy, psychological distress and moral disengagement: A cluster randomized controlled trial. Preventive Medicine, 65, 109-115. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2014.05.003. PMID: 24823906.
The Climate Schools: Alcohol and Cannabis Course was designed to prevent and reduce alcohol and cannabis use in adolescents. Although previous studies examined the effectiveness of the program on reducing substance use, the authors were also interested in whether the program reduced risk factors for substance use, including truancy, psychological distress, and moral disengagement. To study this, the authors examined data from a cluster randomized controlled trial of the Climate Schools program. Ten secondary schools were randomly assigned to give students the Climate Schools course, and ten schools were randomly assigned to provide traditional health classes to students. The Climate Schools course was a 12 session, Internet-based program targeting alcohol and cannabis use. Schools in the control condition continued providing traditional, in-person health classes with education on substance use. At baseline, post-intervention, 6- and 12-months post-intervention, students completed a self-report questionnaire asking about substance use, truancy, psychological distress, and moral disengagement. Immediately after completing the intervention, risk factors were similar across the schools assigned to usual health classes and the schools using the Climate Schools program. By 12-months post-intervention, students at schools assigned to the Climate Schools program reported lower levels of truancy, psychological distress, and moral disengagement. These findings provide support for the use of the Climate Schools program to reduce substance use risk factors in adolescents.