Avaliação da versão portuguesa do programa de prevenção "saluda

Resumen

The Saluda program (Espada & Méndez, 2003) is a program of prevention of alcohol abuse and other substances, aimed at adolescents aged between 12 and 14 years old. Its general objectives are delaying the age of the initiation of alcohol consumption and reducing the abusive consumption of alcohol and other drugs. For several years it has been tested in Spain and relevant results obtained in several studies. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the Portuguese version of the Saluda Program (ManiFesta Saúde) among a sample of Madeiran adolescents. The methodology adopted was based on the establishment of an experimental group and a control group, assessing the progress of each group over three moments of analysis: a pre assessment test (administered prior to the program implementation); a post test assessment (applied immediately after the program implementation); and a follow-up assessment (which took place four months after the end of the intervention). The sample consisted of 560 students from the 7th and 8th grades from 3 schools of Funchal, with an average age of 13 years old. As assessment tools of the program, a battery composed of 7 self-administered questionnaires was used: Sociodemographic Questionnaire (Espada, Méndez, & Hidalgo, 2003); Consumption Questionnaire (Espada, Méndez, & Hidalgo, 2003); General Self-Efficacy Scale (AEG) (General Self-Efficacy Scale) (Schawarzer & Jerusalem, 1995); Rathus Assertiveness Scale (RAS) (Rathus, 1973); and Consumption Intention Questionnaire (Espada, Méndez & Hidalgo, 2003). The main results show significant differences between groups, regarding the consumption of alcohol, tobacco and joints, having these decreased in the experimental group compared with the control group. There were also significant improvements in terms of normative perception and consumption intention. Future lines of research should follow in order to evaluate other effects of the program, such as the knowledge about drugs, as well as its effectiveness concerning assertiveness and self-efficacy using more specific scales.