Approaching the Subject of Substance use in a peer-to-peer Education Project

Abstract

Substance use is on the political agenda in Romania now more than ever. A new national plan regarding the prevention of consumption among teenagers has been drawn up. Training them in prevention programs is not easy, especially for those teenagers who are difficult to educate, coming from environments where dialogue is not encouraged. There is evidence that participatory education, in the form of peer education, can be a very effective way of preventing substance use among young people (Perry, 1989; Jarvis, 1993). Purpose: The purpose of this study was to probe the perceptions of some teenagers participating in peer education prevention programs about the effectiveness of this education model.Methods: 20 peer educators and first-year students in Psychology and Social Work were trained by anti-drug specialists to prevent substance abuse. The activities carried out within the framework of a program called From Peer to Peer in the Prevention of Substance Use, took place in informal environments (headquarters of some associations, youth clubs, in nature). 4 focus groups of 10 teenage participants were held. After analyzing the answers, the results were integrated into a questionnaire applied to several 400 teenagers. The overwhelming majority of participants (98%) considered this type of intervention to be attractive, and interesting; the participants were relatively easy to coopt, although they initially expressed their reservations regarding the trainers' potential to surprise them with new information or approaches. Their assessments concern the naturalness of the meetings that took place in the form of discussions, the informal character, the lack of pressure exerted by the status, the freedom of expression, the fact of being understood and looked at with respect, and the psychological closeness. However, they highlighted some conditions, risks, and limitations related to the efficiency of the development of these programs known by peer educators.