PREVENTION OF PSYCHOACTIVE SUBSTANCES USE AMOUNG SCHOOLCHILDREN

Abstract

The article describes the relevance and necessity of primary prevention of psychoactive substances use among schoolchildren, considers the need for scientific substantiation and evidence of the effectiveness of the use of programs for the prevention of psychoactive substances use in different countries. A short literature review of the experience of primary prevention of the use of psychoactive substances in Belarus, Russia and the non-CIS countries has been made. The elaborated, tested and implemented in practice curriculum of optional classes aimed at the formation of students’ skills of responsible and safe behavior «We are ourselves» for grades 5-8 of general secondary education establishments is presented in detail. The goals of the extracurricular program as well as its structure are described, and its tasks are detailed. The organizational and methodological work that was carried out for the successful implementation of the cycle is highlighted (seminars with educational psychologists, individual consultations on request, summing up intermediate results after 5 lessons and a seminar on the final stage of testing methodological materials and definitive results). The primary results on the program effectiveness are given, that were obtained with the help of a survey of students, their parents and teachers, as well as the results concerning the distribution and implementation of monitoring the curriculum «We are ourselves» in Vitebsk region, which demonstrated its relevance and the prospects for its use. Based on the results of the article, the conclusions are drawn about the effectiveness of prophylactic work with schoolchildren to prevent the use of psychoactive substances and methods of its improvement.