Universal school-based intervention for increasing resilience, and its effect on substance use

Introduction: Universal interventions for preventing substance use are important priorities for schools. The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of a school-based educational intervention on the prevention or reduction of substance use among high school students. Methods: This quasi-experimental study was conducted on 608 grade 10 high school students in Kerman, Iran. The intervention group consisted of 310 students (134 females and 176 males) and their parents, and the control group consisted of 298 students (120 females and 178 males). Students were recruited from September 2018 to February 2019 using a multistage sampling method. The Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RIS) and a drug use tendency tool were the instruments used to measure the effect of the intervention. The universal educational intervention, which was based on life skills training, was performed by an experienced clinical psychologist over eleven sessions for students and five sessions for their parents. The postintervention evaluation was performed 3 months later. Results: The intervention decreased students� drug use tendency (p 0.05). Conclusion: The universal resilience-enhancing secondary school-based educational intervention had no protective effect against substance use among Iranian adolescents. This finding may warrant future investigation of primary school students. © 2020 Elsevier Lt