Validation of a Tool to Evaluate Drug Prevention Programs Among Students

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Adolescent Psychology
• Educational Research

Background:

• School-based programs aim to reduce adolescent substance use.
• Effective evaluation requires validated and reliable questionnaires.
• Assessing the #Tamojunto2.0 program's impact necessitates a robust measurement tool.

Purpose of the Study:

• To verify the semantic validity and reliability of the #Tamojunto2.0 program evaluation instrument.
• To adapt and confirm the suitability of the questionnaire for assessing adolescent responses to drug prevention initiatives.

Main Methods:

• Mixed-methods approach combining quantitative (test-retest, CFA, non-response analysis) and qualitative (focus groups, field cards) data.
• Sample: 262 eighth-grade students from public schools in São Paulo.
• Self-administered questionnaires used for data collection.

Main Results:

• Substantial to almost perfect agreement (Kappa 0.60-0.80+) for questions on marijuana, alcohol, cigarettes, cocaine, crack, and binge drinking.
• Confirmatory factor analysis indicated good model fit for underlying scales.
• Qualitative data identified practical challenges in question application and comprehension.

Conclusions:

• The questionnaire demonstrates high factorial validity, reliability, and adolescent comprehension.
• Post-modification, the instrument is deemed suitable for evaluating the #Tamojunto2.0 program in a randomized controlled trial.
• The study provides a validated tool for measuring the effectiveness of school-based drug prevention programs.