This program is a web-based, tailored drug abuse prevention program. The program comprises three-sessions and is informed by a social competency skill-building strategy and minority stress theory.
The program is designed for 15-16-year-old sexual minority youths. The program has only been evaluated in the USA. A randomized control trial (Schwinn et al. 2015) was conducted with 236 participants (119 in the intervention group and 117 in the control group).
Participants were 16 years old on average and mostly white in both the intervention (66%) and control groups (58%). Approximately half the participants in both groups were female, with just over 30% identifying as male in both groups and 18% and 14% reporting as transgender or fluid in the intervention and control groups respectively. Most participants in both groups reported being sexually attracted both sexes. Most participants lived in suburban areas.
This program has not been evaluated in Australia or with Aboriginal Australians.
Overall, the program had a positive effect on client outcomes.
Promising research evidence:
The program is a 3 session online intervention designed to be completed at the participant’s own pace at home. Most sessions took around 14 minutes to complete and participants took around 4 weeks on average to complete the program.
An animated young adult narrator led youths through the tailored content and practice scenarios that included interactive games, role-playing, and writing activities. Session 1 focused on skills for identifying and managing stress; session 2 provided a five-step guide for making decisions; and session 3 addressed drug use rates and refusal skills.
The costs for the program were not reported in the study.
Participants require web access to complete this program.
1 RCT conducted in the USA with a sample of 236 people (Schwinn et al. 2015).
Schwinn, TM, Thom, B, Schinke, SP, & Hopkins, J 2015, ‘Preventing drug use among sexual-minority youths: findings from a tailored, web-based intervention’, Journal of Adolescent Health, vol. 56, pp. 571-573, DOI 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2014.12.015.
09 Dec 2022
We acknowledge Aboriginal people as the First Nations Peoples of NSW and pay our respects to Elders past, present, and future.
Informed by lessons of the past, Department of Communities and Justice is improving how we work with Aboriginal people and communities. We listen and learn from the knowledge, strength and resilience of Stolen Generations Survivors, Aboriginal Elders and Aboriginal communities.
You can access our apology to the Stolen Generations.