The Living the Example Social Media Substance Use Prevention Program: A Pilot Evaluation

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Adolescent Psychology
• Social Media Studies

Background:

• Adolescent substance use is increasing in rural areas like upstate New York.
• New intervention strategies are needed to address this trend.
• The Living the Example (LTE) campaign uses youth-created social media messages for prevention.

Purpose of the Study:

• To pilot test the LTE program in two rural high schools.
• To evaluate if social media strategies can complement in-person approaches.
• To assess youth engagement and the impact on substance use attitudes and intentions.

Main Methods:

• Adapted a curriculum on branding, messaging, and social media for prevention.
• Delivered a 5-week after-school program to 9th graders.
• Used pre- and posttest online questionnaires and logistic regression analysis.

Main Results:

• Overall intentions to use marijuana, sedatives, and any drug increased.
• However, youth exposed and receptive to LTE showed significant decreases in intentions for all substance categories.
• This suggests a protective effect of the LTE program.

Conclusions:

• The LTE program demonstrated potential effectiveness in substance use prevention.
• Social media, particularly peer-to-peer messaging, may be a viable prevention strategy.
• Further large-scale research with diverse youth populations is recommended.