Effect of Guiding Good Choices Prevention Program on the Behavioral and Emotional Risk Factors of the Adolescents in Pakistan

Abstract

The current research study aimed to explore the effectiveness of the Guiding Good Choices Prevention Program (GGC) on behavioral and emotional risk factors among Pakistani adolescents. For this purpose Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 (Lovibond, 1995), Self-Reported Delinquency Scale (Naqvi & Kamal, 2013) and Substance Use Risk Profile Scale (Woicik et ai, 2009) were used to assess the level of risk factors in the adolescents. Through a pre-test and post-test comparison of an experimental group subjected to the GGC intervention and a control group, this study examined changes in various domains, including risk of psychological distress (aIL'<:iety and depression), riskof delinquent behaviors, and risk of substance use. The pre-test comparisons provided a crucial baseline for assessing changes. Findings showed satisfactory alpha coefficients of all measures. Examination of the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS), Self- Reported Delinquency Scale (SRDS) and Substance Use Risk Profile Scale (SURPS) scores revealed notewOlthy differences between the experimental and control groups. Regarding (DASS), significant improvements were observed in the experimental group compared to the control group after the intervention. For (SRDS) experimental group displayed significantly lower scores than the control group in total, violence and disobedience subscales, indicating a reduction in delinquent behaviors after the intervention. Additionally, examining the subscales of the SURPS, significant differences were observed where participants showed significant decreases in these subscales, indicating a reduction in impulsive behaviors, sensation-seeking tendencies, and feelings of hopelessness. The study found significant differences in the experimental group post-intervention, encompassing reduced levels of psychological distress, decreased delinquency behaviors, and lowered substance use risk factors in the adolescents. These findings overall highlighted the positive impact of the GGC program in addressing critical adolescent challenges and align with prior research emphasizing the impOltance of family-based prevention.