Testimonial of a recovered drugs-addict in the class room: wise or foolish?

Abstract

Background: The main aim of this study is to examine whether a testimonial by a recovered drugs-addict (RDA) who visits a classroom has effect on drug use determinants. Some consider RDA-testimonials to be wise because via vicarious experiential learning, adolescents might learn that they should not experiment with drugs. Others consider this to be foolish, because RDA-testimonials might romanticize drug use and the RDA is living proof that it is possible to recover. Methods: Four conditions were compared in a two-wave 2*2 design (RDA-testimonial no/yes * informative lesson no/yes), N=948 (average age: 14.5 years). Separately for cannabis and hard drugs, eight effect variables were measured: positive and negative use consequences, attitude, use intention, use intention when friends use, refusal self-efficacy, curiosity, and awareness of addiction risk. Findings: Regarding determinants of cannabis use, repeated measures manova shows that overall the informative lesson has no significant effects (F(8,931)=1.46, η2=.01, p=.17), whereas the RDA-testimonial has small effects in a healthy direction (F(8,931)=7.82, η2=.06, p<.001). For hard drugs determinants, both the informative lesson (F(8,937)=2.86, η2=.02, p=.004) and the RDA-testimonial (F(8,937)=2.81, η2=.02, p=.004) have small healthy effects. There are no interaction effects. Healthy effects are especially found for students who have more positive views on drug use before the intervention. For four (of sixteen) variables, the RDA-testimonial has a stronger healthy effect at the higher educational levels. Discussion: Overall, the combination of informative lessons and a RDA-testimonial is most powerful to achieve short-term effects. It is wise to bring a RDA into the class room.