Evaluation of Choice-8 Effect on Girls and Boys, Who Took Part in the Substance Abuse Prevention Program

Introduction: There are differences between sexes in the etiology of drug abuse (Rohrbach & Milam, 2006). CHOICE-8 is a program on prevention drug misuse, HIV/AIDS and crime among adolescents. To understand gender implications in measuring CHOICE-8 effectiveness a study was conducted involving 887 eighth-graders from 15 schools in Chernihiv and Odesa. A survey conducted in October 2013 among eighth-graders (13-14 years old) prior to program enrollment indicated that 42% of boys and 36% of girls truanted at least one lesson within the past 30 days. 23% of boys and 15% of girls showed tolerance (social acceptance) to tobacco; 27% of boys and 17% of girls - to alcohol. 81% of boys and 76% of girls showed lack of tolerance to PLWH (People Living with HIV). Given these findings, CHOICE-8 was conducted for 15 classes, other 15 classes constituted a control group.  

METHODS: The truancy rate, attitude to tobacco and alcohol and tolerance to PLWH were assessed through the questionnaire including four questions: 1)“How many lessons have you truanted in the past 30 days?” (options to respond were: 0, 1 more than 1; responses “1” and “More than 1” were considered); 2)“It is bad when somebody smokes tobacco” (options were: “Yes”, “No”, “Maybe”); 3)”It is bad when somebody drinks alcohol” (options were: “Yes” “No” “Maybe”; for attitude to tobacco and alcohol responses “No” and “Maybe” were considered); 4)“Are you ready to make friends with an HIV-positive person?” (options were: “Yes”, “No”, “Maybe”; responses “No” and “Maybe” were considered).

RESULTS: At the post assessment, for those who participated in CHOICE-8, 31% of boys and 22% of girls reported having committed truancy in the past 30 days (11% less for boys and 14% less for girls comparatively to the baseline). 20% of boys and 8% of girls showed tolerance to tobacco (3% less for boys and 8% less for girls). 20% of boys and 8% for girls showed tolerance to alcohol (7% less for boys and 9% less for girls). 59% of boys and 46% of girls demonstrated lack of tolerance to PLWH (22% less for boys and 30% less for girls).

CONCLUSION: The findings demonstrate some gender differences on all four survey questions. Girls tended to report more positive changes in attitudes regarding the CHOICE-8 messages. They were particularly more likely to become more tolerant of PLWH. In order to receive more data regarding gender differences the research will be extended to other schools and regions of Ukraine.