Project Towards No Drug Abuse (Project TND)
Project Towards No Drug Abuse (Project TND) is funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse as a drug abuse intervention and prevention program for high school-age youth. This school-based program (1) teaches skills, such as healthy coping and self control, (2) educates students about myths and misleading information that encourage substance use and motivates change, (3) warns of chemical dependency and other negative consequences, and (4) provides cessation strategies for those already using drugs. Finally, it encourages youth to use positive decision-making skills, to continue to discuss substance abuse with peers, and to commit to not using substances. Steve Sussman, a professor in the University of Southern California’s Departments of Preventive Medicine and Psychology, developed this program.
Adolescents ages 14 to 19 years old attending both regular and alternative schools have participated in this program. Project TND was tested with Caucasian, African American, Hispanic/Latino, and Asian American students.
Project Towards No Drug Abuse is designed for adolescents in any school or school district. Teachers can administer lessons to classrooms with as few as 5 or as many as 40 students. It has also been tested for alternative high schools. At this time, materials are only available in English. A Spanish version of the student workbook and teachers manual will be available after March, 2007
Project TND aims to prevent tobacco, alcohol, and other drug use and to help students make healthy, informed choices in their lives. It is taught through twelve 40 to 50-minute lessons and focuses on the following three areas:
Motivational factors: The lessons address students' attitudes, beliefs, expectations, and desires regarding drug use. This program also addresses student’s cognitive misperceptions around drug use. Often, teens receive misinformation about drugs from a variety of sources. Classroom lessons allow students to discuss their ideas, and it gives teachers an opportunity to provide students with more accurate information and correct any myths. This includes lessons on the adverse physical, mental and emotional consequences of drug use for the user.
Skills (social, self-control, and coping skills): When teens use drugs, it is often to cope with problems, to fit in with their peers, or because they lack appropriate self control skills. Several lessons aim to provide students with healthier coping, communication, and self control skills so that they do not resort to substance use and abuse.
Decision-making: Students learn how to make decisions that lead to health-promoting behaviors. In addition, students also make a commitment to not use and to continue the conversations from Project TND with their peers.
It is strongly recommended that educators participate in a one-day or two-day training prior to implementing Project TND curriculum. However, training is not mandatory, and schools have previously used this program without formal training. An implementation manual provides step-by-step instructions. Other program materials include a video on the importance of substance abuse prevention, student workbooks, and an optional kit with additional instructional materials. The Institute for Prevention Research at the University of Southern California provides Project TND training, technical assistance, and materials. To learn more and discuss having a training at your site, go to: http://tnd.usc.edu/training.php?PHPSESSID=79a4f45112bba48c0f375d7b55e4291f
Steve Sussman, Ph.D. FAAHB Program Developer
Institute for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Department of Preventive Medicine, USC
1000 South Fremont Avenue, Unit 8, Suite 6129
Alhambra, CA 91803
Phone: (626) 457-6635
Fax: (626) 457-4012
Email: ssussma@hsc.usc.edu
Web site: http://www.cceanet.org/Research/Sussman/tnd.htm
Jim Miyano, Institute for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Dept. of Preventive Medicine, USC
1000 South Fremont Avenue, Unit 8, Suite 4112
Alhambra, CA 91803
Phone: (626) 457-4048
Fax: (626) 457-4012
The standard one-day or two-day training is offered onsite in a seminar/workshop format, and costs vary depending on the location of the site, plus travel expenses for the trainer. The cost is $1,100 for a one-day training and $1,800 for two days for sites located in the Pacific /Mountain time zone; $1,200 for one-day and $1,900 for two days for those in the Central time zone; and $1,300 for one-day and $2,000 for two-day training for sites located in the Eastern time zone. Sites must also pay for the trainer’s airfare, airport parking, ground transportation, mileage, and per diem (hotel and food). The teacher’s manual ($70), a set of five student workbooks ($50), the Drugs and Life Dreams video ($25), and a TND game board ($15) are also separate fees.
Evaluations conducted by the developer have included over 42 schools and more than 3,000 youth in Southern California. One year results showed a significant decrease in self-reported cigarette smoking, alcohol use, marijuana use, and hard drug use for students participating in Project TND compared to the control group (Sussman et al., 1998; Sussman, Dent, & Stacy, 2002). Project TND has been tested at traditional and alternative high schools and was found to reduce alcohol and illicit drug use for students in both settings (Dent et al., 2001; Sussman, Dent, & Stacy, 2002). Two-year follow-up maintenance of effects has been found for cigarette, marijuana, and hard drug use (Sussman et al., 2003). A long term study of the program found that after 5 years, there was a reduction in hard drug use for the students who completed the program and could be follow-up that long (46%; Sun et al., 2006).
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Model Program
- Helping America’s Youth (HAY) Programs: Level I
- Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) Exemplary Model Program
- Blueprints Model Program
- Health Canada: Exemplary Programs from the Scientific Literature
The University of Southern California Institute for Prevention Research Web site provides important technical assistance and training related information. Visit their FAQ page for answers to common Project TND training questions. This Web site from the California Continuation Education Association reviews the results of three Project TND studies conducted in the California school systems. The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention rates Project TND as an exemplary model program, and its web site includes the program’s logic models and performance matrices.
Dent, C. W.; Sussman, S.; Hennesy, M.; Galaif, E. R.; Stacy, A. W.; Moss, M.A.; & Craig S. (1998). Implementation and process evaluation of a school-based drug abuse prevention program: Project Toward No Drug Abuse. Journal of Drug Education, 28(4): 361–75.
Dent, C. W.; Sussman, S.; & Stacy, A.W. (2001). Project toward no drug abuse: Generalizability to a general high school sample. Preventive Medicine, 32(6): 514–20.
Simon, T. R.; Sussman; S.; Dahlberg L. L.; & Dent, C.W. (2002). Influence of a substance abuse prevention curriculum on violence-related behavior. American Journal of Health Behaviors, 26(2):103–10.
Sussman, S. (1996). Development of a school-based drug abuse prevention curriculum for high-risk youths. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 28(2): 169–82.
Sussman, S. & Ames S. L. (2001). Social Psychology of Drug Use and Abuse; Buckingham, United Kingdom: Open University Press.
Sussman, S.; Dent, C. W.; Craig, S.; Ritt-Olson, A.; & McCuller, W. J. (2002). Development and immediate impact of a self-instruction curriculum for an adolescentindicated prevention drug abuse prevention trial. Journal of Drug Education, 32(2): 121–37.
Sussman, S.; Dent, C. W.; & Stacy A. W. (2002). Project Toward No Drug Abuse: A review of the findings and future directions. American Journal of Health Behavior, 26(5): 354–65.
Sussman, S., Rohrbach, L., & Mihalic S. F. (2004). Book 12 Project Toward No Drug Abuse. In Elliott, D.S. & Mihalic, S. F. (eds.). Blueprints for Violence Prevention. Boulder, CO: Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence.
Sussman, S.; Sun, P.; McCuller, W. J.; & Dent, C. W. (2003). Project Toward No Drug Abuse: 2-year outcomes of a trial that compares health educator delivery to selfinstruction. Preventive Medicine, 37(2): 155–62.
Sussman, S.; Dent, C. W.; Stacy, A.; & Craig, S. (1998). One-year outcomes of Project Toward No Drug Abuse. Preventive Medicine, 27(4): 632-642.
Sun, W.; Skara, S.; Sun, P.; Dent C. W.; & Sussman, S. (2006). Project Towards No Drug Abuse: Long-term substance use outcomes evaluation. Preventive Medicine, 42: 188–192.
