Program Goals & Benefits

• Reduce risk and enhances protective factors that affect alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drug use using personal and interpersonal skills
• Reduces intentions to use alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drugs
• Develops more appropriate attitudes toward alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drugs
• Improves decision making, goal setting, and peer resistance
• Increases friendships with peers less likely to use alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drugs
• Knowledge of the negative consequences of alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drug use and benefits of a drug-free lifestyle
• Positive peer norms

What are some of the subjects covered in the curriculum?

• Setting goals and overcoming obstacles
• Analyzing media messages
• Building healthy friendships
• Serving the community
• Healthy ways to handle stress
• Peer resistance skills
• Accepting personal responsibility for choices
• Choosing healthy leisure activities
• Short-term effects and long-term consequences of drug use

How it Works

• Each curriculum comes in a three-ring binder and includes ten 30-45 minute lessons. The lessons are divided into activities and are scripted for ease-of-use. Objectives and materials are clearly listed at the beginning of each lesson.
• Normative Education: provides accurate information about the percentage of youth that use drugs and the percentage that would disapprove if their friends used drugs
• Information on Harmful Effects of Drug Use: raises students’ perception of risk
• Prosocial Skills Development: features goal setting, decision making, coping, communication, and peer refusal skills
• Diverse Role Play Situations: relating to alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drug use and associated problem behaviors provide many opportunities for practice
• Cooperative Learning: promotes prosocial skills and academic development
• Parental Involvement: promotes discussion and reinforces concepts and skills students learn in TGFD

Outcomes / Proven Results

Each of the five studies showed positive effects on other risk and protective factors relating to student alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drug use and violence, including significant increase in:

• Attitudes toward drugs
• Attitudes toward violence
• Perceived peer norms
• Peer disapproval of use
• Emotional competence
• Social and resistance skills
• Goals and decision making
• Perceived harmful effects
• Positive effects on substance use and protective factors continued to be seen both short- and long-term. Outcomes in comparison to controls include significant increase in students’ protective factors.

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