The Effectiveness of Drug Prevention Programs Among Children in Schools
The Effectiveness of Drug Prevention Programs Among Children in Schools
The Effectiveness of Drug Prevention Programs Among Children in Schools
Norsayyidatina Che Rozubi1, Azad Athahiri Anuar2, Nurul Ain Mohd Daud1, Ahmad Jazimin Jusoh1,
Pau Kee1
1
Department of Guidance and Counseling, Faculty of Human Development, Sultan Idris Education University, Perak, Malaysia
2
OnMind Consulting, Tanjung Malim, Perak, Malaysia
Corresponding Author:
Norsayyidatina Che Rozubi
Department of Guidance and Counseling, Faculty Human Development, Sultan Idris Education University
35900 Tanjung Malim, Perak, Malaysia
Email: [email protected]
1. INTRODUCTION
Drug abuse is a big problem that is spreading among the world community and this will have a very
bad effect on the development of the country, especially the development of human capital [1], [2]. The
problem of discipline and moral decay nowadays in society in Malaysia is very concerning, especially among
children and teenagers, as it spreads very fast and keeps being very difficult to deal with. Statistics from the
Department of Social Welfare in 2019 recorded a total of 4,833 teenagers involved in crime according to the
type of case and gender [3]. Among the social and moral problems that are at a critical level is drug abuse
among the community, especially teenagers and young people [4]–[6]. Drug abuse is a universal issue that
threatens the safety and order of society [7], [8]. This matter is also experienced in foreign countries as stated
by previous studies that drug abuse has been proven to have many negative effects on the well-being of its
users [9], [10]. Some research findings conducted in Nigeria have proven drug abuse among Nigerian youth
is linked to poor academic performance of students [11], low self-esteem [12], crime [13], and lack of
employment opportunities [14], [15].
Therefore, efforts to prevent drug abuse need to be done more actively with careful and correct
planning [16]. These efforts also need to be emphasized on teenagers and youth because they are the
backbone and inheritors of the country's leadership in the future [17], [18]. Fauziah and Ezarina [19]
conducted a research on the involvement of teenagers in drug abuse and found that as many as 79.5% of the
200 study samples involved in drug abuse was a result of the influence of peers and suggested the
implementation of drug abuse prevention programs among children and teenagers are conducted. Liu et al.
[20] on the other hand found that more than half of the study sample was involved in illicit substance abuse
in their study which aimed to examine the perception of illicit substance abuse among high school students.
Based on the findings of these studies, it shows the importance of drug abuse prevention programs carried out
in schools in Malaysia.
Among the efforts implemented is a drug prevention program in schools that aims to deal with drug
problems among children, especially in risky states in Malaysia. In general, this study aimed to find out the
effectiveness of the drug prevention program that has been implemented for level two primary school
students (ages 10 to 12 years old) who are identified as being at risk of engaging in drug abuse. In particular,
the objective of the study is to identify the main factors in the effectiveness of drug prevention programs in
schools and to assess the effectiveness of drug prevention programs based on awareness, knowledge, skills
and spiritual components.
2. METHOD
This study has used quantitative design and is supported by qualitative data. In order to achieve the
purpose of the study, two phases of the study were conducted. The first phase is a case study that uses the
interview method to gather data on the effectiveness of drug prevention programs conducted on program
implements. The second phase is a quantitative study that uses a survey design through the distribution of
questionnaires to program recipients. The design of this study is shown in Table 1.
Table 1 shows that in phase 1, the interview method was used by program implements and
facilitators, namely National Anti-Drug Agency (AADK) officials. Interview with eight people listed to
obtain information about the implementation of the prevention program in terms of activities, program
journey, facilities, and so on. While in phase 2, a survey study was conducted using the questionnaire
distribution method. The questionnaire used is a set of questionnaires on the effectiveness of drug prevention
programs that have been specifically developed by researchers.
In order to continue the process of gathering information and research data, the researcher has
identified the location for both phases of the study. For phase 1 of the study, a total of six locations have been
identified, namely the Johor Bahru District AADK Office (Johor), the AADK Kota Bharu Office (Kelantan),
the Federal Territories AADK Office (Kuala Lumpur), the AADK Office Ipoh (Perak), the AADK Seremban
Office (Negeri Sembilan), and the Melaka State AADK Office. Meanwhile, the study location for phase 2 is
six schools from each of six different states that have implemented a drug prevention program, selected
randomly in Table 2.
For the first phase of the study, the respondents were six program implementers, consisting of
teachers and AADK officials. The respondents for phase 2 of the study are 500 primary school students who
are categorized as at risk in risk areas. However, only 499 respondents returned a set of questionnaires for
analysis in Table 3.
To carry out the survey, a set of questionnaires on the effectiveness of the drug prevention program
was used. The questionnaire is used to evaluate each indicator of the effectiveness of the drug prevention
program. It has been developed by the researcher and has been tested in terms of validity and reliability. In
total, this questionnaire contains 40 items, which are divided into five sections, namely demographics,
knowledge, awareness, skills, and spirituality. Next, for the purpose of this study, a pilot questionnaire survey
was conducted on 30 students of a primary school to obtain Cronbach's alpha value to see its reliability,
where the overall Cronbach's Alpha value was 0.71. This shows that it has a high reliability
value [21]. Ethical clearnce number: 2021-0177-01.
3.2. The results of drug prevention programs based on the construct of awareness, knowledge, skills
and spirituality
The data on the effectiveness of the drug prevention program according to the construct of knowledge,
skills, awareness and spirituality among children has been broken down according to high, medium and low
levels and is reported in Table 4. For the knowledge construct, a total of 466 people is at a high level, followed
by a medium level of 32 people and finally only one low level. Next, for the skill construct, the majority of
respondents were at a high level, 420 people, the rest were at a medium level, 79 people, and no respondents
were reported to be at a low level. While for the awareness construct, 389 respondents were at a high level, 97
people were at a medium level, and 13 people were at a low level. Finally, for the spiritual construct, a total of
466 respondents scored high, while for medium and low, 32 and one respectively.
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constructed based on aspects of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats [26] in order to provide a
clearer and more comprehensive conclusion regarding the findings from this study in Table 5.
Based on the overall findings of this study, it has been shown that the drug prevention program in
schools has been implemented in a planned location [27], [28], which has shown a positive effect in efforts to
eradicate and prevent drug abuse among primary school children [29]. The drug prevention program is very
suitable to continue by giving emphasis to several aspects that are factors in the effectiveness of program
implementation [30], such as module improvement, monitoring, follow-up activities, and so on [31].
Therefore, drug prevention programs in schools should be continued [32], [33] in an effort to eradicate the
spread of drug abuse from the grassroots in society [34], [35], especially among teenagers, which is
becoming increasingly worrying [36].
4. CONCLUSION
Recommendations to the management and stakeholders so that drug prevention programs can be
continued in a more structured manner, in addition to giving emphasis on module content, budget, promotion,
and monitoring. In addition to that, emphasis on the sustainability of the program through monitoring and
follow-up activities that may be carried out periodically and in accordance with the needs of the program
participants can also be given attention.
Next, the collaboration of various parties, such as NGOs, and universities, needs to be mobilised for
the planning and implementation of more effective programs so that the programs to be implemented have
good content of activities and are planned with full strategy and systematic planning and can then be
implemented with maximum effect. This is in line with the findings of an external study which states that an
effective drug prevention program for teenagers needs to involve the school, family, community, peers, as
well as technology-based interventions.
Regarding the content of the module, it needs to undergo an improvement process by involving
researchers from any university or research body. A specific study needs to be conducted to further refine
every aspect of the module's content as well as test the module in a real setting to examine the level of
validity of the content, reliability, and effectiveness of the module using the correct research process .
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This study was funded by National Anti-Drug Agency (AADK) is an agency under the ministry of
home affairs Malaysia that combat drug and substance abuse including prevention, education, treatment,
medicine and rehabilitation. The author would like to thank the Sultan Idris Education University (UPSI) for
providing assistance, support and managing this grant. Source of Funding: Research Grant number
(2019-0254-106-10)
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BIOGRAPHIES OF AUTHORS
Nurul Ain Mohd Daud is an Associate Professor from the Department Guidance
and Counseling, Faculty of Human Development, Sultan Idris Education University (UPSI),
Tanjung Malim, Perak, Malaysia. Specializes in Multicultural Counseling, Digital Counseling
and Qualitative Methodology. She can be contacted at email: [email protected].
Pau Kee is a senior lecturer from the Faculty of Human Development, Sultan Idris
Education University (UPSI), Tanjung Malim, Perak, Malaysia. She is Director of Counseling
Center at Sultan Idris Education University. Her specializes and interests in Clinical Mental
Health Counseling. She can be contacted at email: [email protected].