One strategy for providing substance use prevention programs to adolescents and young adults is through school and community athletics.
Several evidence-based substance use prevention programs are available for providing substance use prevention and training for youth and coaches.
Four programs found on evidence-based registries include:
- SPORT Prevention Plus Wellness for Youth
- InShape Prevention Plus Wellness for Young Adults
- Athletes Training and Learning to Avoid Stimulants (ATLAS)
- Spit Tobacco Intervention for Athletes
Descriptions of each program are provided below, along with training and implementation details.
SPORT Prevention Plus Wellness (PPW)
Description:
SPORT Prevention Plus Wellness (PPW) is a quick and easy to use positive youth development program for prevention and health professionals and parents who want to prevent substance use and promote healthy lifestyle behaviors and positive identities of youth.
SPORT PPW has undergone rigorous research evaluating its effectiveness for preventing youth substance use and increasing healthy habits. It is listed as an evidence-based program on the National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices (NREPP), Blueprints for Healthy Youth Development and other evidence-based registries. Furthermore, it utilizes an evidence-based practices screening and brief intervention format recognized by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
SPORT PPW is the only single-session substance use prevention program designed to increase health-enhancing behaviors including physical activity, sports participation, healthy eating, getting adequate sleep, and practicing stress control. SPORT PPW is founded on the Behavior-Image Model (BIM), a positive youth development-related framework that targets naturally motivating positive peer and desired future images to increase motivation for change and multiple health behavior goal setting to increase self-regulation skills and self-efficacy of participants.
SPORT PPW is highly flexible and can be used as a stand-alone intervention, or as an add-on component to other prevention, health, sports, fitness, recreation, education, intervention, or treatment programs. While it was created as a universal prevention intervention, organizations across the US and abroad use it as a selective and indicated prevention program for high-risk populations.
Training & Implementation:
The SPORT PPW program was designed to help youth look and feel more active, fit, and healthy using a three-step brief intervention process of:
- Screening youth for their current health habits to increase awareness of their substance use and healthy behaviors;
- Providing feedback cueing positive future images and the benefits of engaging in the healthy behaviors and how substance use harms them, to increase motivation for change; and
- Presenting a goal plan and contract to help youth set and monitor goals to avoid substance use and increase protective wellness behaviors increasing self-control skills and self-efficacy.
SPORT PPW can be provided to youth in school and community sports settings by teachers, coaches, parents, or youth leaders. Since the program is just one session and comes in a scripted manual with PowerPoint slides even youth have been trained to provide the program to other same or younger aged peers.
Training comes in a convenient online self-paced program implementer course which takes about two hours to complete. Currently, SPORT PPW is also available in a video-based format which can be shown to youth in group settings, as well as a self-administered online program.
Unlimited SPORT PPW Program Licenses allow providers access to the digital program manual and materials for three years. Live online training of trainer workshops are also available.
Learn more: https://preventionpluswellness.com/products/evidence-based-alcohol-drug-sport-prevention-plus-wellness
InShape Prevention Plus Wellness (PPW)
Description:
InShape (Alcohol/Drug) Prevention Plus Wellness (PPW) is a quick and easy to use brief intervention for prevention and health professionals, peer leaders and others who want to prevent substance misuse and promote healthy lifestyle behaviors and positive identities of young adults.
InShape PPW has undergone rigorous research evaluating its effectiveness for preventing young adult substance use and increasing healthy habits. It is listed as an evidence-based program on the National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices (NREPP), Blueprints for Healthy Youth Development and other evidence-based registries. Furthermore, it utilizes an evidence-based practices screening and brief intervention format recognized by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
InShape PPW is the only single-session substance misuse prevention program designed to increase wellness-enhancing behaviors including physical activity, healthy eating, getting adequate sleep, and practicing stress control among young adults. InShape PPW is founded on the Behavior-Image Model, a wellness-related framework that targets naturally motivating positive peer and desired future images to increase motivation for change and multiple health behavior goal setting to increase self-regulation skills and self-efficacy of participants.
InShape PPW takes less than 60 minutes to implement, is highly flexible and can be used as a stand-alone intervention, or as an add-on component to other prevention, health, sports, fitness, recreation, education, intervention, or treatment programs. While it was created as a universal prevention intervention, many organizations use it as a selective and indicated prevention program for high-risk populations.
Training & Implementation:
The InShape PPW program was designed to help young adults look and feel more active, fit and healthy using a three-step process of:
- Screening young adults for their current health habits to increase awareness of their substance use and wellness behaviors;
- Providing feedback cuing desired future images and the benefits of engaging in the wellness behaviors and how substance misuse harms them, to increase motivation for change; and
- Presenting a goal plan and contract to have young adults set and monitor goals to avoid substance misuse and increase protective wellness behaviors enhancing self-control skills and self-efficacy.
InShape PPW can be provided to young adults in college and community sports settings by teachers, coaches, or student leaders. Since the program is just one session and comes in a scripted manual with PowerPoint slides even student leaders have been trained to provide the program to other same or younger aged peers.
Training comes in a convenient online self-paced program implementer course which takes about two hours to complete. Unlimited InShape PPW Program Licenses allow providers access to the digital program manual and materials for three years. Live online training of trainer workshops are also available.
Learn more: https://preventionpluswellness.com/products/evidence-based-alcohol-drug-inshape-prevention-plus-wellness
Athletes Training and Learning to Avoid Stimulants (ATLAS)
Description:
ATLAS is a drug prevention and health promotion program for high school athletes. It is integrated into team practice sessions and consists of a classroom curriculum and weight room skill training sessions. Coaching staff and peer educators administer the classroom curriculum consisting of seven classroom sessions delivered to subjects over seven weeks of the football season. Program staff administer seven weight room sessions during the same period.
Additionally, the ATLAS staff deliver a single evening session to parents describing the program and its goals, and answering questions. The classroom curriculum covers subjects such as risk factors of steroid use, strength training and sports nutrition as well as skills to refuse steroids and other substances. In addition, nutritional recommendations and false claims of over the counter supplements are discussed. A pocket-sized sports nutrition guide and a weight-training booklet are distributed to all student participants.
The weight room sessions provide demonstrations of different weight-lifting techniques, while reinforcing other elements of the classroom curriculum. The parent session consists of a one evening informational session about the program as well as ways in which parents can help reinforce the knowledge gained by the youth in the classroom curriculum.
Training & Implementation:
Training is recommended prior to implementing ATLAS and is provided by the Center for Health Promotion Research.
During training, participants learn the current trends in adolescent athlete substance abuse, underpinnings of effective drug prevention and health promotion, alternatives to drug use (sports nutrition and physical training), and the background and outcomes of ATLAS. Coaches and other prospective instructors will have practical experience learning to use the programs and integrating them into their usual team activities.
There must be a minimum of 20 participants and a maximum of 100 participants. Two trainers are required for up to 50 participants, three trainers for 50-75 participants, and four trainers for more than 75 participants.
Training is accomplished in approximately 5 hours, depending on the number of participants. Ongoing customer support is available for all participants.
Learn more: https://www.blueprintsprograms.org/programs/64999999/athletes-training-and-learning-to-avoid-steroids-atlas/
Spit Tobacco Intervention for Athletes
Description:
The Spit Tobacco Intervention for Athletes is an education program about the dangers of addiction and long-term use of using spit tobacco. It is targeted at young male athletes—especially those who play baseball—who use or are at risk of using spit tobacco.
The intervention consists of two parts: a) a single-session, peer-led component and b) a dental component. The first component typically consists of a 50-minute, interactive meeting that includes a video tailored to baseball athletes, graphic slides of facial disfigurement associated with oral cancer and its surgical treatment, and a small group discussion of spit-tobacco advertisements aimed at young males. The dental component includes an oral exam from a dentist.
In addition, a behavioral counseling session helps participants establish a quit date. The brief counseling also explains nicotine addiction and suggests coping strategies for spit-tobacco cravings either to increase positive feelings or to decrease negative emotions and other withdrawal symptoms. Moreover, counseling points out that spit-tobacco use can be a highly automatic behavior intensely learned and practiced over time, so that the user can find himself using spit tobacco without deliberate realization or conscious desire.
To address this automatic use of spit tobacco, counselors have athletes recall their use of spit tobacco in a typical day to identify reasons for use and to target dips used automatically for initial elimination in planning a schedule to taper down spit-tobacco use and gradually reduce nicotine exposure. Program participants also receive a follow-up call from a dental hygienist to discuss a quit date.
Training & Implementation:
The intervention is grounded in cognitive social learning theory, which speaks to the importance of motivation to behavioral change. Behavioral change depends on an interest in making a change, having the skills to replace old behaviors with new ones, and a belief in one’s ability to perform the change.
No further training and implementation details were provided.
Learn more: https://crimesolutions.ojp.gov/ratedprograms/293
Conclusion
One strategy for providing substance use prevention programs to adolescents and young adults is through school and community athletics.
We identified four evidence-based substance use prevention programs that are available for providing substance use prevention and training for youth and coaches.
Each intervention was described and information regarding training and implementation options was provided.