The Doubles: Evaluation of a Substance Abuse Education Curriculum for Elementary School Students

Epstein, Joel; Collins, Karen; Thomson, Nicole Renick; Pancella, Thom; Pauley, Danielle

doi:10.1300/j029v16n04_01

Cited by 13 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 24 publications

(19 reference statements)

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“…The finding that female students learned slightly more from the game than male students is surprising because in previous studies both genders benefited equally from science-based digital games (Joiner et al 2010; Epstein et al 2007). A more detailed assessment of factors that might have contributed to the gender differences, such as the game’s understandability and credibility, would be important for the development of future educational games that are equally effective among both genders.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 82%

“…For each scale, participants read statements and rated their level of agreement on a five-point Likert-scale from 1 = “strongly disagree” to 5 = “strongly agree.” The attitudes toward inhalants scale was developed on the basis of the General Attitudes Towards Drug Use measure (Epstein et al . 2007) and consisted of ten items (e.g., “There is really nothing wrong with using inhalants.”). The scale was coded so that 1 = most negative and 5 = most positive attitude toward inhalants.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, Brain Power! (Holtz and Twombly 2007) and The Doubles (Epstein et al 2007), both funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, were successful in increasing students’ knowledge about the biological effects of drugs in elementary and middle school populations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Impact of a Science Education Game on Students’ Learning and Perception of Inhalants as Body Pollutants

et al. 2011

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This study investigated the knowledge gains and attitude shifts attributable to a unique online science education game, Uncommon Scents. The game was developed to teach middle school students about the biological consequences of exposure to toxic chemicals in an environmental science context, as well as the risks associated with abusing these chemicals as inhalants. Middle school students (n = 444) grades six through eight participated in the study consisting of a pre-test, three game-play sessions, and a delayed post-test. After playing the game, students demonstrated significant gains in science content knowledge, with game usability ratings emerging as the strongest predictor of post-test content knowledge scores. The intervention also resulted in a shift to more negative attitudes toward inhalants, with the most negative shift occurring among eighth grade students and post-test knowledge gains as the strongest predictor of attitude change across all grade levels. These findings suggest that the environmental science approach used in Uncommon Scents is an efficacious strategy for delivering both basic science content and influencing perceived harm relating to the inhalation of toxic chemicals from common household products.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 82%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Impact of a Science Education Game on Students’ Learning and Perception of Inhalants as Body Pollutants

et al. 2011

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“…Consequently, we modified scales from our previous SEDAPA projects (Epstein, Thomson, Collins, & Pancella, 2009; Epstein, Collins, Thomson, Pancella, & Pauley, 2007). The resultant scale consists of nine five-point Likert scale items such as “I enjoy my science course” and “Doing science often makes me feel nervous”.…”

Section: 1 Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bacon Brains: Video Games for Teaching the Science of Addiction

Epstein

Noel

Finnegan

et al. 2016

Journal of Child & Adolescent Substance Abuse

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Researchers have developed many different computerized interventions designed to teach students about the dangers of substance use. Following in this tradition, we produced a series of video games called Bacon Brains. However, unlike many other programs, ours focused on the “Science of Addiction,” providing lessons on how alcohol and other drugs affect the brain. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of our games in teaching students our science-based curriculum. We enrolled over 200 students and randomly assigned them to play our games or a different series of NIDA-produced games. Of the students in the Bacon Brains conditions, half were instructed to play collaboratively and the other half was told to play competitively. Results indicate significantly greater knowledge gains among students in Bacon Brains compared to the existing games (5.01 mean knowledge score difference; [F(1,242)=9.588, p=.002]). Girls demonstrated knowledge gains in both collaborative and competitive conditions, but boys demonstrated similar gains only in the competitive condition. Based on our outcomes, we conclude that video games can serve as an effective method of science instruction. We further discuss the importance of considering gender differences in light of differential response to collaborative vs. competitive learning environments.

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“…One CD-ROM-based intervention designed to reduce smoking and risk for smoking among young adolescents resulted in no improvement in smoking behavior (Aveyard et al 2001). "The Doubles," an intervention delivered through a set of DVDs, interactive CD-ROMs, workbooks, or a website had little effect on student attitudes about substance use (Epstein et al 2007). Similarly, Maio et al (2005) conducted a randomized trial of a computer-based substance abuse prevention program and found that intervention group participants experienced similar outcomes to those in the control group for binge drinking.…”

Section: and 24 Months After Baselinementioning

confidence: 99%

E-Therapy for Substance Abuse and Co-Morbidity

Wodarski¹,

Curtis²

2015

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The Doubles: Evaluation of a Substance Abuse Education Curriculum for Elementary School Students

Cited by 13 publications

References 24 publications

The Impact of a Science Education Game on Students’ Learning and Perception of Inhalants as Body Pollutants

The Impact of a Science Education Game on Students’ Learning and Perception of Inhalants as Body Pollutants

Bacon Brains: Video Games for Teaching the Science of Addiction

E-Therapy for Substance Abuse and Co-Morbidity

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