The transition from primary to secondary school as stressful life event provoking risky drinking behaviors

ABSTRACT

This study is based on a drug prevention project for children in the German–Polish border region known as “Pomerania.” The aim of this project was to minimize risk behaviors while developing social skills as protective factors through project-specific training interventions. The present study especially investigates the development of social skills and risk behaviors at German and Polish primary schools in the critical transitional period from primary to secondary school. Data on German 4th graders and Polish 6th graders were collected by means of a longitudinal and control group design through 3rd-party assessment from teachers. The data on social skills was collected through the use of standardized assessment instruments. The study established that social skills could indeed be increased through training and that risk behaviors decreased in both of the treatment groups. The control group showed altogether an increase in risk behavior and a decrease in coping skills. In the Polish treatment group, even risk behaviors which had been detected previously decreased. The German control group showed an increase in risk behaviors and a decrease in coping skills. In the case of the younger German pupils, the effectiveness of the interventions was exhibited indirectly. Despite variations in age and cultural differences, the effects of training were noticeable in children from both countries. The intervention program offered the children adequate assistance in order to successfully cope with this stressful life event. It promoted the development of social skills while minimizing risk behaviors.

KEYWORDS:

• Primary prevention
• risk behavior
• substance addiction
• coping skills
• primary schools
• stressful life event

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank all of the children and their parents who took part in this project and the class teachers and university students for their efforts. A special thanks to the headmasters of the included schools in Greifswald and Kolobrzeg: Ms. Katrin Schmidt (Martin-Anderson-Nexö Primary School), Ms. Beate Hennings (Greif Primary School), Ms. Heike Kagel (Erwin-Fischer-School), Rainer Heiden (Caspar-David-Friedrich Regional School), Ms. Ewa Paska-Koschel (Primary School no. 3), and Ms. Jolanta Wasila (Primary School no. 4) for giving us the opportunity of conducting this study. Furthermore, the authors wish to thank Ms. Barbara Petkus for a careful and critical English editing of the manuscript.

Funding

The Regional Centre conducted the study for Addiction Prevention and Conflict Management, the University of Greifswald (Department of Educational Science), the University of Szczecin (Department of Educational Science) and the Bethanien Hospital for Psychiatry, Psychosomatic and Psychotherapy, Greifswald. Trained psychologists from the Bethanien Hospital evaluated the effects of the implementation of the modules on skills and risk behavior. The project was co-financed by European Union resources (ERDF) and is part of the funding period 2007-2013 of the EU program INTERREG IV A, which aims at transnational cooperation in education, public health, and culture as well as in science, environmentalism, infrastructure, economy, and technical help. The EU registration number of the project ‘Transnational network on addiction prevention for the European region Pomerania' is INT-08-0008. Ethical and data privacy protection issues were evaluated by the ministry of education science and culture of the state of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania in accordance with the ethical standards laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments.