YSAPPA Program Archive YSA01

State-Wide Indian Drug Prevention Program
Steven P. Schinke

The program is a drug prevention program, designed to combine a social learning based intervention with bicultural competence theory. Bicultural competence encompasses skills that can enable American-Indian people to adapt the roles in which they were raised with the culture in which they are surrounded. The three subgoals of bicultural competence, knowledge and practice in communication, coping, and discrimination skills, provide the theoretical foundation for intervention to prevent substance abuse with American-Indian youth.

The original program was designed primarily for fourth and fifth grade Native American/Alaskan Native students in s classroom setting, but it can easily be modified for higher-grade levels and other adolescents. The curriculum can be implemented in a wide variety of settings, including public schools, tribal schools, tribal community centers, and student retreats. The intervention is administered in 15 one-hour sessions.