Dr. Jorge Gaete, an academic from the School of Education, evaluated the implementation in Chile of a culturally adapted version of the international Social Competence Promotion Program for Young Adolescents (SCPP-YA), renamed "My Best Plan".
El consumo de sustancias en adolescentes continúa siendo una preocupación de salud pública. Con el objetivo de abordar este desafío desde el entorno escolar, un equipo de investigadores liderado por el Dr. Jorge Gaete, académico de la Escuela de Educación, evaluó la implementación en Chile de una versión culturalmente adaptada del programa internacional Social Competence Promotion Program for Young Adolescents (SCPP-YA), renamed "My Best Plan".
The recently published research consisted of a cluster randomized controlled pilot study that evaluated the acceptability, feasibility, fidelity and quality of the program's implementation, in addition to exploring its effectiveness in reducing risk factors and strengthening protective factors against substance use.
“Mi Mejor Plan” consiste en una intervención educativa de 16 sesiones en aula, diseñada para estudiantes de 6° básico, que promueve habilidades de resolución de problemas sociales. El programa fue impartido por facilitadores previamente entrenados, y se aplicó en un total de 11 escuelas, aunque una se retiró después del proceso de asignación aleatoria.
A total of 765 students participated, of which data from 538 were analyzed at the end of the intervention. The average age was 11.3 years, and 52.5% of the students were male.
According to the results, the implementation of the program was successful: all sessions were conducted and student attendance remained high, with figures ranging from 83.8% to 92.4% per class. In addition, 91.3% of students rated the program positively.
Both facilitators and external observers reported a high adherence to the planned contents, which speaks of a good fidelity in the execution of the program.
Regarding the effects of the program, significant improvements were observed in individual protective factors, especially in negative beliefs about tobacco and alcohol. However, there were no relevant changes in substance use, in associated risk factors or in other dimensions such as emotional regulation or sense of school belonging.