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Protecting You/Protecting Me

An Evidence-Based Practice

This practice has been Archived and is no longer maintained.

Description

Protecting You/Protecting MeĀ® (PY/PM) is a 5-year, classroom-based, alcohol-use prevention curriculum for students in first through fifth grade. The curriculum, developed by Mothers Against Drinking and Driving (MADD), is designed to be integrated into the core curriculum at elementary schools. The PY/PM curriculum is an interactive classroom module that provides 42 lessons (8 lessons in each of grades 1 through 4, and 10 lessons in grade 5) and 40 required reinforcement activities (8 in each grade) that promote students' personal responsibility. Each lesson integrates several standard educational objectives, including those related to healthy behaviors and information, personal and interpersonal skills, and influencing factors. Trained school staff, prevention specialists, or high school students enrolled in a peer mentor/leadership course can teach the lessons. The curriculum addresses eight topics: 1) the brain, 2) growth and development, 3) health and safety, 4) rules and laws, 5) friends, 6) choices and decisions, 7) media awareness, and 8) communication (especially with adults).

Goal / Mission

The goal of the curriculum is to prevent injury and death of children and youth due to alcohol-related incidents.

Results / Accomplishments

In a recent pre- and post-test study of more than 700 students, students who participated in the teacher-led PY/PM program made significant gains in stress management, decision-making and vehicle safety skills, while demonstrating positive changes in their attitude toward underage drinking, the perceived harm of alcohol, and knowledge of alcohol's effect on development. The research also showed that the student's retained the information learned in the previous year's PY/PM and benefited from multiple years of the program. The peer-led evaluation found similar positive results. Females tended to score better than males on these measures. Results were found at posttest and again at follow-up, 6 weeks later.

About this Promising Practice

Organization(s)
Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD)
Primary Contact
Kappie K. Bliss
Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD)
611 South Congress Avenue, Suite 210
Austin, TX 78704
(512) 693-9422
Bliss@MADD.org
Topics
Health / Alcohol & Drug Use
Health / Children's Health
Organization(s)
Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD)
Source
SAMHSA's National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices
Date of publication
2005
Date of implementation
1997
For more details
Target Audience
Children