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Longitudinal Comparison of Two Versions of an Interactive Multimedia Substance Abuse Education Program

NCJ Number
227919
Journal
Journal of Child and Adolescent Substance Abuse Volume: 18 Issue: 3 Dated: July 2009 Pages: 302-321
Author(s)
Joel Epstein; Nicole Renick Thomson; Karen Kadela Collins; Thom Pancella
Date Published
July 2009
Length
20 pages
Annotation
This study compared two versions of a media tool designed to teach children about the science of drug addiction: SpaceScouts and LockerTalk.
Abstract
SpaceScouts and LockerTalk are unique interactive substance abuse education programs targeted toward preteens. Originally developed for use within a spiritual setting, the evaluation demonstrated their effectiveness in other venues as well. Funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the Missouri Institute of Mental Health produced a series of media tools to educate fourth, fifth, and sixth grade children from African-American churches about substance abuse. Starting with a core curriculum, two separate interventions were created. SpaceScouts is a narrative version where the core substance abuse educational content is woven into the story line of a video that resembles many teen-targeted television shows. LockerTalk is a program that uses a more traditional, didactic method of conveying the curriculum via an interactive CD-ROM. Similar to SpaceScouts, LockerTalk is designed to teach students about the science of substance abuse in three, 3-hour sessions led by a moderator. A comparative analysis of the two versions of this interactive multimedia substance abuse education program was conducted utilizing youth from a dozen churches, randomly assigned to one of the two versions. Pretest, posttest, and 4 and 8 month follow-up evaluations were conducted. Figures and references