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Abstract
Aim: To test whether the school-based Olweus prevention programme against bullying may have lasting effects on substance use, a hypothesis based on the characteristics of bullies having misconduct behaviour associated with substance use.
Methods: The Olweus programme was introduced from grades 7 through 9 in four schools and monitored up to grade 10 in Oslo in 2001/02, with two schools serving as controls. Students responded to annual questionnaires about substance use. Three-level analyses were applied to check for increases in substance use over time.
Findings: There was no significant difference in the frequency of alcohol use between the experimental schools and the control schools. Alcohol intoxication and cannabis use, and possibly smoking, were higher in the control schools than in the experiment schools.
Conclusion: Elements of the Olweus programme characterized by positive interest and engagement on the part of adults, firm boundaries between acceptable/unacceptable behaviour, and the consistent application of non-physical, non-hostile consequences, in addition to the multi-modal and permanence of the approach, may be of interest for further studies of school-based programmes aimed at achieving lower levels of or at delaying the onset of substance use.