Effect of Educational Intervention based on the Theory of Planned Behavior on the Prevention of Psychotropic Substance Abuse among High School Female Students in Ilam, Iran, during 2018

Introduction: Drug and psychotropic use have undesirable and devastating effects on the human body and soul that lead to an increase in family and social insecurity. Due to the difficulty of treatment, addiction prevention is always emphasized in the studies. Therefore, the present study aimed to determine the effect of educational intervention based on the theory of planning behavior on the prevention of psychotropic abuse among female high school students in Ilam, Iran, during 2018. Materials & Methods: This randomized controlled trial was conducted on 120 students who were randomly assigned to intervention and control groups in the academic year of 2018-19. The data were collected through a researcher-made questionnaire based on the theory of planned behavior, which was used after the confirmation of validity and reliability at pretest and posttest. The educational content was designed based on the theory of planned behavior, and the outcome of the preliminary data was analyzed and administered in five sessions of intervention. The posttest was performed one month after the training, and the data were analyzed using SPSS software (version 22) through the Shapiro-Wilk test, independent t-test, and paired t-test. Ethics code: IR.IAU.SRB.REC.1397.022 Findings: The results of covariance analysis and paired t-test showed the significance of the educational intervention in raising the awareness about the behavior of students in Ilam regarding the prevention of psychotropic abuse at an error level of less than 1%. Moreover, the educational intervention was effective in promoting abstract norms and the behavioral intention of students in Ilam, Iran, regarding the prevention of psychotropic abuse at an error level of less than 1%. Discussions & Conclusions: Educational intervention based on the theory of planned behavior has effects on the prevention of psychoactive substance abuse in the intervention group. Therefore, it is recommended that education officials and other relevant institutions make use of educational techniques based on the behavior change patterns, life skills training, and student empowerment in order to prevent addiction.