Very young children are generally not targeted for drug education efforts for two basic reasons. First, it is generally assumed that young children are not cognitively ready to learn about specific drugs through systematic drug prevention efforts. And second, it is difficult to measure pre- and posttest changes on the part of young children if drug education intervention is instituted. This study involved measuring what children three to eight years old learned from systematic drug education over the course of eight months. Two assessment methods were compared: pictorial and verbal interviews. The posttest results revealed that the children who received the intervention knew significantly more about several drugs than a matched comparison group. Both methods were useful in providing a comprehensive view of what the children knew about alcohol and other drugs.
Martin KreuzerWilly NeunzigRamon Piqué i HuertaMarisa Presas
Marcos Jesús Pantaleón PrietoÓscar Ramón Ramos GutiérrezGuillermo Ortega CarrerasJosé Manuel Martínez García