Does the Life Skills Training program reduce use of marijuana?

Abstract

The Life Skills Training (LST) program is one of the most widely disseminated drug prevention programs developed during the past 30 years. It is estimated that 50,000 teachers and 3 million students in the USA have participated in the program since 1995, and the program has been used in more than 30 other countries worldwide. This article reviews the evaluation studies that have assessed the effects of the LST program on the use of marijuana. Evaluations conducted by both the program developer and other research teams are reviewed. Most of the available evidence, especially coming from the analysis of data from full samples and not subgroup analysis, indicates that the program is unlikely to reduce use or abuse of marijuana among adolescents. The reason that the program has come to be considered so efficacious in preventing marijuana use is that those who promote the program pay little attention to the preponderance of evidence which supports the null hypothesis of no effect.

• Life Skills Training program
• school-based drug prevention
• marijuana use
• evidence-based drug use prevention