Too Good For Drugs (TGFD)

COUNTRY: UNITED STATES

REGION: AMERICAS

Implementer: The C.E. Mendez Foundation

Partners: Florida Public Schools, Florida Department of Children and Families

Program Overview: Too Good for Drugs (TGFD) is a school-based prevention program designed to:

• Prevent or diminish cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, and marijuana use among middle school students
• Reduce risk factors and enhance protective factors that strengthen resiliency regarding alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use

Program Design: The TGFD program comprises ten 50-minute lessons delivered once per week by TGFD instructors and covers:

1. Goal setting
2. Decision making
3. Identifying and managing emotions
4. Effective communication
5. Bonding and relationships
6. Alcohol
7. Tobacco
8. Marijuana 
9. Inhalants and other street drugs
10. Course review

Instructors use a number of strategies to enhance learning including cooperative learning, role playing, small group activities, purposeful games, demonstrations, and class discussions and iterative practice.

Evaluation: The program was studied using a randomized, controlled trial with an ethnically diverse sample of 6th graders from a large school district in Florida containing urban, suburban, and rural areas. 40 middle schools were studied, 20 of which were placed into the control group while the remaining 20 undertook the program. 

Students from both control and intervention schools were asked to complete three assessment surveys on an identical schedule; a pre-survey completed 1-2 weeks prior to the intervention date, a post-survey completed 1-2 weeks after the completion of the intervention, and a follow-up-survey completed 6 months after the completion of the intervention.

Key findings: The surveys demonstrated that students who participated in the program were less likely to report smoking behavior, alcohol consumption, binge drinking, and marijuana use in the weeks after their participation, as well as 6 months later. The effect was strongest for students considered at high-risk of drug use compared to students at low or moderate risk. 

Program Website: http://www.toogoodprograms.org

References:

1. Bacon, T. P., Hall, B. W., & Ferron, J. M. (2013).Technical Report: One year study of the effects of the Too Good for Drugs prevention program on middle school students. 

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