Drug Use Prevention in Low-income Neighborhoods of Montevideo-Uruguay: the Effectiveness of Mantente REAL in Public Elementary Schools.

This article reports on the effectiveness of the drug use prevention program Mantente REAL (MREAL) with elementary school students in Uruguay. MREAL is the Spanish language version of Original Program, an internationally validated program recognized as an efficacious universal intervention for youth drug use prevention. In partnership with selected elementary schools, a binational team of investigators implemented and evaluated a linguistically and culturally adapted version of MREAL in Montevideo, Uruguay. The sample included 223 sixth-grade students from six public schools located in low-income neighborhoods. The students' regular classroom teachers implemented the intervention after receiving a two-day training. Schools were randomly assigned into experimental and control conditions and all consented students, regardless of condition, completed a pre- and post-test survey. Compared to control school students, those receiving MREAL reported significant desired effects for cigarette use, marijuana/hard drug use, drug use personal norms, and drug offers from peers. Findings indicated that MREAL is a promising program for preventing drug use in Uruguay elementary schools with similar socioeconomic characteristics. The article concludes with a set of policy, practice and future research implications and recommendations for the further advancement of evidence-based universal prevention in Uruguay.