Ayman M. Hamdan-Mansour
The University of Jordan, Jordan
Title: Effectiveness of life skills training to prevent substance abuse first year university students at high risk of substance use: Comparison between computer-based and conventional interventions
Biography
Biography: Ayman M. Hamdan-Mansour
Abstract
Background: College students are at risk of number of mental and psychosocial problems including substance use (Hamdan-Mansour, 2010). Studies showed that substance use is one serious problem among university students that may affect students’ potentiality and academic capabilities
Purpose: to evaluate effectiveness of using electronic format of training to prevent substance abuse and compare it to conventional intervention group among first year university students at high risk of substance use.
Methods: Randomized Clinical Trial (RCT) design utilized to test the research hypothesis on 60 university students (30 students’ per groups) at high risk for substance use. A multi-stage sampling technique used to recruit the sample.
Results: The analysis showed that participants’ negative attitudes toward substance use in the computer mediated interventional group was increased post intervention. Although the mean score was significantly higher than the baseline (Time I) at time II and dropped at time III, the mean scores remained higher than time I, using repeated measure ANOVA (p < .05). computer had the highest accumulated difference in mean score (M = .25, F1, 29 = 9586.82, p-value = < .001)), then conventional (- .10, F1, 29 = 8468.78, p-value = < .001).
Conclusion and Implication: Findings of this study provide evidence that computer-based intervention was found to be more effective and highly relevant to this age group than the traditional interventions. A computer-based program/electronic information focusing on the negative effects of substance abuse and teaching students the required skills and techniques of resistance is a priority to prevent substance use among adolescent and young population.