Artikel

Abstract

Information-based school programs aimed at reducing alcohol and drug use tend to have limited effects. It is claimed that this is because the aims of such programs are to influence the students' behavior and social life outside the school system. The aim of this article is to describe different views on how to evaluate substance prevention school programs. The analysis is based on publications in the philosophy of science, sociology, psychology, social-psychology and prevention science. There is an ongoing debate about how prevention programs ought to be evaluated. One group of researchers argues that experiments involving control groups is the only reliable way to assess prevention programs. Others maintain that this kind of experimental data to determine the outcomes has to be complemented by process data. This is because we need to know how programs interact with the local environment to optimize their effects. Knowledge about the processes will enable us to develop more effective programs in the future. Based on the analysis presented we conclude that both outcome and process studies are necessary to form a basis for the development of more efficient programs. Such programs must bring about positive interactions among the students and between the students and the instructors, which in turn will affect the outcomes of the prevention programs.