Long-Term Effects of Drugs Education in Primary School

Abstract

The long-term effects of a drug education programme (Project Charlie) taught in primary school were examined. Children who had received weekly lessons for a year in primary school, when they were aged nine and ten, were followed up four years later in their secondary schools. Three samples were studied. In the first (Subset 1), children were randomly assigned to intervention (n=20) or control conditions (n=14) and pre-tested before some received the drugs education programme. They were followed up immediately post-intervention and again as they approached fourteen years of age. In Subset 2, children who had been taught Project Charlie (n=21) were compared with matched controls attending the same secondary school (n=21) in their first year of secondary school and again at age fourteen years. In Subset 3 the Project Charlie children were compared at final post-test with all their classmates. By the time the children were thirteen or fourteen, the Project Charlie group were significantly more able to resist peer pressure (Subsets 1 & 2 - data not collected for Subset 3), had significantly more negative attitudes towards drugs (Subsets 1 & 3), and were significantly less likely to have smoked cigarettes (Subsets 1 & 3) or to have used an illegal drug (Subset 3).

The late Professor Harry McGurk was closely involved in the initial evaluation of Project Charlie, bringing his characteristic mix of energy and enthusiasm. He maintained his interest in the follow-up but sadly died before the final draft was completed. We miss his contribution

Key Words:

• Drugs education
• primary school
• life skills training