Lions Quest Skills for Adolescence implementation during COVID-19 challenges in Croatia

Globally, the Coronavirus-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic situation has affected the education system, forcing students to start distance learning. Consequently, education of students reverted to online platforms or TV station broadcasts. Extracurricular programs have also experienced a setback given the natural prioritization of mandatory school subjects. Meanwhile, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) was implementing a teacher-led extracurricular activity for children of age 10-15 years to prevent substance use and other negative life and social consequences (Lions Quest Skills for Adolescence [LQSFA]). Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, LQSFA was difficult to sustain, partly as it was considered extracurricular and partly given its interactive requirement that was difficult to apply through distance learning. Nevertheless, schools' facilitators managed to adapt the program information sharing and communication strategies with the student groups and identified essential sessions allowing continuity of program implementation and utilization of critical program skills during COVID-19 pandemic. The practical implication of the facilitators' assessment of the relevance, value, motivation and feasibility of the implementation of the LQSFA program within the current COVID-19 circumstances calls for the eminent need for adaptation of its implementation modality to meet the current educational delivery circumstances. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).