Project TND is an effective, interactive substance use prevention program that that focuses on three factors that predict drug use, violence, and other problem behaviors among youth, including:
- Motivation factors (students’ attitudes, beliefs, expectations, and desires)
- Skills (effective communication, social self-control, and coping)
- Decision-making (how to make decisions that lead to healthy behaviors)
Risk Factors Addressed:
- belief that alcohol, tobacco and other drugs (ATOD) are safe to use
- poor communication skills
- lack of coping skills
- poor ability to make healthy decisions
- low commitment to school
Skills Built:
- accurate knowledge about the effects of ATOD
- behavioral and cognitive coping skills
- stopped or reduced use of ATOD
- personal commitment to not use ATOD
- positive future orientation
- increase in healthy friendships
Age: Grades 9–12
Setting: Full classrooms or small groups during the school day
Format: 12 sessions, 40-50 minutes each, over 4 to 6 weeks
Effectiveness: In randomized control trials the program has been shown to reduce substance use and weapon-carrying (in males) at one year follow-up. Results include:
- 27% reduction in past-30-day cigarette use
- 22% reduction in past-30-day marijuana use
- 26% reduction in past-30-day hard drug use
- 9% reduction in past-30-day alcohol use among baseline drinkers
- 25% reduction in one-year weapon-carrying among males