An overview of the evidence-based prevention programme 'Unplugged'. Mentor ADEPIS seminar series - 7th July 2015 - London.

1. Peer van der Kreeft
University College Ghent, Belgium
For Mentor –ADEPIS seminar “Unplugged: Life-skills for thriving youth”
CAYT Centre for Analysis of Youth Services
The City Centre Conference Room, Guildhal, London July 7th 2015
Background
Programme components
Adaptation

2. 12.40 Unplugged – an overview
13.10 Q&A
13.20 demonstration of the Unplugged teacher training
14.00 evaluation outcomes
14.30 tea/coffee break
14.50 adapting Unplugged–the Healthy Minds programme
15.20 group work- implementation in your local area
15.50 wrap up and close

3. 3
3
Researchers meet practicioners
Comprehensive Social
Influence CSI programme
12-14 year
12 lessons
Manual & Training
RCT 7.079 pupils
143 schools
7 EU countries
°2002
°2015
29 countries
€
EU-Dap 1 SANC
EU-Dap 2 SANC
EU-Dap Faculty JUST
Mentor Int’l & IKEA
UNODC & EU
Mentor Arabia
UNODC & Brasil Gvt
Rotary Clubs Mumbai
EEFoundation UK
and many local funders

4. 4
Brasil
Nigeria
Pakistan
United
Kingdom

5. Three kinds of prevention
Universal – whole group
Selective – vulnerable group
Indicated – vulnerable individual

6. Classification based on risk assessment

7. Even if…
• … we know risk and protective
factors
• We cannot know who, as an
individual, will be hooked on drug
abuse
• So Universal Prevention is the first
way to approach this problem

8. Since the late eighties…
Only knowledge
Knowledge + refusal skills
Knowledge + refusal skills + lifeskills
(Direct expectation of using drugs is not a common experience in
adolescence. Need for making rational choices, standing for
one’s opinion are common experiences)
Knowledge + normative beliefs + lifeskills
(Adolescents who perceive drug use as common and tolerated,
are more likely to start to use themselves compared to peers of
the same age who do not endorse this belief)
CSI

9. • Knowledge, normative belief, lifeskills
• Refusal skills within lifeskills
• Focus lifeskills on social influence related
Comprehensive Social Influence

10. 10
10
Programme components
• Implementation guide
• Workbook for the pupil
• Cards for class
• Handbook 12 lessons for the teacher
• Teacher training (for interactive delivery)
• Three parent meetings

11. 11
Teacher training
Objectives of the 3 day training:
1. Information transfer
2. Social learning ( social influence)
3. Experimental learning
4. Learning to work on a positive and safe
class climate

12. certification in a cascade model

13. 13
Parent meetings

14. 14
Normative belief

15. 15
Normative belief workbook manual cards

16. 16
Parent meetings

17. Best Practice э adaptation
Unpractical would be:
“Intervention that is proven to be effective if
replicated 100% loyal to the model”
Essential component is:
“possible to be adapted to specific situation
with control of intervention power”

18. Best Practice э training
• Chain of actions from program design to contact
teacher with target group
• Last parts of the chain requires expertise from
non- drug related disciplines (e.g. education,
didactics)
• Documented instructions for the last parts of the
chain are often missing or vague
• These last steps are captured by ‘training’, often
related to expert-persons!

19. focus on implementation
• Evaluators: focus more on last and local steps
• Designers: include difference between core
and adaptable components
• Trainers: document your expertise

20. 20
Brasil
Nigeria
Pakistan
United
Kingdom

21. A AMPLIAÇÃO DO GLOBO

22. MOMENTO 2 – O PROCESSO DE DISSEMINAÇÃO EM LARGA ESCALA

23. DISSEMINAÇÃO EM ESCALA NACIONAL

24. 24
Romania
Russia
Kyrgystan

25. 25
ICAA Estoril, October
2009
Adaptation
Surface
language and idioms
places
product brands
food
music
…
Deep
risk and protective factors
gender roles
family and community life
legal system
norms and values
...

26. Adaptation in Arab region
• Some role-play instructions for boy–girl relations were replaced by
single–sex friendship relations.
• But taking … into account, the party-related situation was replaced
with a homework-related one, thus complying with the boy–girl
communication.
• Another change that was proposed by the Arabic adapters was to
refer to the illegality of alcohol when this substance was mentioned.
• But… the saturation effect of implicit warnings is one reason, but a
more important motivation is that Unplugged focuses on risk factors
that are close to the lifestyle and immediate concerns of young
people: financial cost, aesthetics, and social risks. The number of
references to the illegal status of alcohol was considerably reduced
in the Arabic versions
Ghanim Bibi, adaptator. Arab Resource Collective, ARC. Transformation (and adaptation) of knowledge
26

27. Adaptation in Russia
• Russia had a negative experience: Universal
Prevention trial used Selective Prevention method -
> iatrogenic effect.
• Law: no reference to possible positive effect of drugs
• Important in reasoned action process and correcting
wrong perceptions is acknowledging those
perceptions.
• In Russia only limited nbr of explicit perceived
positive effects are replaced, and systematic re to
legality remains sober
• Adaptation issues are also included in teacher
training

28. “Best Practice is … replicable”
• Intervention must be adapted to culture and
situation of target group
• No rigourous adherence to clinical trial
• Implementation must be open to change
• Include flexibility
• Provide differentiation and documentation of
core components

29. Adaptation of Unplugged to a
two-part module within the
UK Healthy Minds project
September 2014

30. Healthy Minds
Funded by the EEF
– How to Thrive are directing the project.
– Lord Richard Layard is the figurehead and Chair of
the Steering Committee.
– LSE have designed the research and lead the health
research.
– NISER are leading the academic research and
evaluating the project as a whole.
– Others involved;
• Professor John Coleman - Academic lead
• Joe Hayman (CEO of PSHE Association)
• James O’Shaughnessy (former Director of Policy
to the Prime Minister) – Policy Lead

31. Healthy Minds RCT
• Sample 31 schools – 11,000 students.
• Baseline June and September 2013
• Follow up each June (not every year, not every
measure)
• Intervention group: one lesson per week from
Yr7 - Yr10
• Teacher training: 19 days over 4 years

33. Year 7
Managing The World
Around Me
Penn Resilience Programme 18
30 Lessons
Media Navigator 6
.breathe 6
Year 8
Moving Towards The
Future
School to Life 9
31 Lessons
Unplugged Part One 4
Media Influences 8
Sex Ed Sorted Part One 4
Relationship Smarts 4
Review and Connect 2
Year 9
Taking Control Of My
Decisions
Relationship Smarts Continued 8
27 lessons
School Health and Alcohol Harm Reduction Project 6
Sex Ed Sorted Part Two 6
Science of Mental Illness 5
Review and Connect 2
Year 10
The Beginning Of
Adulthood
Mood Gym 2
27 Lessons
Unplugged Part Two 9
Parents Under Construction 10
Resilience Revisited, Review and Forward Plan 6

34. Unplugged in Healthy Minds
• Material language review for UK version.
• Part 1: 4 lessons taught in Year 8
• Part 2: 9 lessons taught in Year 10
– Additional lesson on managing emergency
situations – students taught the recovery position.
• Training for teachers - 2 days.
Related subject – School Health Alcohol Harm
Reduction Project – 6 lessons taught in Year 9.

35. Evidence based prevention

36. Thank you
EU-Dap study group
www.eudap.net
peer.vanderkreeft@hogent.be

37. Implementation
• A matter of puzzling, mostly for the teacher
• Therefore:
– Assist the training
– Have the goals of the programme right
– Read the introduction and background (initiated in the
training already)
– Have the school principal stand behind Unplugged
– Participate with two or a small group of teachers
– Change experiences with other teachers
– Organise a help desk
– Organise a one day follow up session

38. 38
pupil level
Will they like it?
How to set the classroom?
What to answer parents with
questions?
Risk for someone to feel
excluded?
Are there extra tasks for the
pupils?
Risk for someone to feel aimed
at?
…
…

39. class level
How much netto time to give the
lesson?
What if a lesson has to drop out?
Where can I quickly find the
essence to teach?
Where are posters and markers?
When do I have to be finished?
When do I have to prepare it?
What will I skip for Unplugged?
And what with my own
smoking?

40. school level
Are there other
interventions or actions?
Is there a policy?
Is there a schoolculture?
How about smoking rules?
What will colleagues say?
How to contact the school
counselor?
How to fit in the schedule?
Are there parent meetings?
What about the questions in
the study?

41. Involving parents
• Inform parents with a letter
• Spend a part of the regular parent
meeting to Unplugged
• Give pupils a task including asking
something at home
• Organise parent meetings
In any case: explain to the parents why you are
teaching Unplugged at school!