Moving K-12 Prevention Programs Beyond “Just Say No”

Schools can play a critical role in efforts to reduce substance misuse among middle and high school students; however, it can be challenging to structure a program in a way that is effective. For decades, schools relied on the “Just Say No” approach to substance misuse – an approach that has since been found to be unsuccessful.

To support schools with this issue, Vector Solutions partnered with Christi Valentini-Lackner and Ryley Jones from the Ohio-based PreventionFirst! for a webinar in which Valentini-Lackner and Jones discussed why the “Just Say No” approach doesn’t work and what schools can do instead.

Why “Just Say No” Doesn’t Work

The “Just Say No” approach arose in the 1980s in the era of the “War on Drugs.” For decades, prevention programs focused on this singular message of saying no to drugs and alcohol. However, studies published in the 1990s and early 2000s found that programs that relied on this approach had little impact on reducing substance misuse.

The reasons, according to one report, include that the “Just Say No” approach oversimplified the issue of substance misuse, failing to address the complexities and nuances of the issue, such as using substances as a coping tool for mental illness. It also didn’t account for the experimental nature of adolescents.

While “Just Say No” can be a good place to start, Valentini-Lackner and Jones said school-based prevention programs need to go further.

Three Strategies to Support Effective Substance Misuse Prevention in Schools

Over the last 20 years or so, there has been a shift in K-12 prevention programming to move toward more comprehensive substance misuse programs. It is important for programs to go beyond educating students about the dangers of drugs and alcohol to instead include teaching students the skills to navigate situations involving drugs and other substances, for instance, critical thinking and decision-making skills, and they should also include student-led prevention efforts. Valentini-Lackner and Jones recommended including three key components into any program: youth-led prevention, positive peer pressure, and skill-building.

1. Youth-Led Prevention

Instead of an approach in which adults tell youth what to do or to “just say no,” youth-led prevention refers to an approach that is led by students and addresses their emotional and behavioral health. In youth-led prevention, students are put in charge of planning and implementing a prevention program. This ensures the content will be relevant to them and because they are personally involved in creating the program they are more engaged in it and are invested in its success. Examples of youth-led prevention could include bringing in an organization to teach prevention skills to high school students and then having those students teach the skills to the middle school students. Another example could be having a youth council plan a summit around substance misuse prevention. Schools can have students research an issue related to prevention, define what the problem is, and plan a program to address it. Putting students in the driver’s seat and giving them an active role in the prevention efforts gets them excited and engaged.

2. Positive Peer Pressure

Positive peer pressure is an approach to prevention that encourages students to influence each other in an empowering way. Studies show students are more influenced by their peers than by adults or experts. Schools can have students work together and share their perspectives with each other on issues regarding substance misuse. Or have high school students go to the middle school and speak about the topic. Those middle schoolers are more likely to absorb the information if they are hearing it from their older peers than if adults or outside experts come in and give the talk.

3. Skill Building

Teaching skills to help students navigate situations involving substance misuse is a crucial component of prevention. There are three general areas that these skills fall under:

1. Refusal skills. Teaching students how to think through the reasons behind their decision to say “no” – for instance, health reasons, social concerns, worry about losing a scholarship, or getting into trouble – is powerful and helps them better navigate situations in which they are invited to participate in substance use. Teaching strategies like suggesting alternative activities and that it’s okay to just leave the situation are also important.
2. Decision-making skills. This includes skills such as problem solving, time management, and media literacy. Students learn how to think critically about substance misuse and not to believe everything they see on the internet or social media.
3. Coping skills. This includes teaching students how to ask for help when they need it, how to set boundaries, and strategies to reduce stress that don’t involve drugs or alcohol.

Valentini-Lackner and Jones recommend giving students opportunities to practice the skills above through role-playing exercises or having them write down or verbalize how they would respond to a situation. Practicing the skills makes it more likely that they will be successful in using them when they find themselves in a “moment of conflict.”

Life Skills Beyond Prevention

All of the skills mentioned above are 21st-century skills that will benefit students beyond substance misuse prevention. These skills will support them in the workforce and help them be active members of society. Creativity, problem-solving, communication, critical thinking, and the ability to navigate difficult situations are skills that are transferrable to all areas of life.

How Vector Can Help

Vector Solutions provides a wide variety of engaging, online courses for K-12 students and staff covering important safety, compliance, and well-being topics.

Vector’s Student Safety & Wellness Program for grades 6-12 includes a collection of Substance Misuse Prevention courses to expand students’ knowledge around substance misuse. The courses cover vaping, alcohol, and drug misuse prevention, and bystander intervention strategies, and teach students how to make healthy decisions, avoid risky behavior, and seek help for themselves or others.

Other courses in the Student Safety & Wellness program include:

• Healthy Relationships, covering topics including bullying, cyberbullying, dating violence, digital citizenship, and resolving disagreements.
• Personal & Community Safety, covering topics including active assailants, good decision-making, human trafficking, Erin’s law, and hazing.
• Career Readiness & Life Skills, covering topics including time management, skills for student success (listening skills, how to develop a learning mindset), and communication.
• Mental Health and Well-Being, covering topics including depression, stress, anxiety, and self-harm.

Vector’s courses are CASEL-aligned and include educator resources, facilitator guides, and lesson plans. The courses are customizable and include assessments, plus pre-and post-course surveys and reporting to provide valuable data and measure the course’s impact. The courses are available in multiple languages.

About The Experts

Christi Valentini-Lackner is the Chief Program Officer at PreventionFIRST!, an Ohio Certified Prevention Consultant (OCPC), and an Ohio Prevention Professionals Association board member and Vice President and Education & Training Team Co-Chair.

Ryley Jones is a Program Manager at PreventionFIRST!, an Ohio Certified Prevention Specialist (OCPS) and a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES).