About the Botvin LifeSkills Training (LST) Program

What is the Botvin LifeSkills Training program?
The Botvin LifeSkills Training (LST) program is a remarkably effective tobacco, alcohol, and drug abuse prevention program for elementary, middle, and high school students. It was developed in the late 1970s by Gilbert J. Botvin, Ph.D., an internationally known expert on drug abuse prevention who is currently a Professor of Public Health and Psychiatry at Cornell University Medical College and Director of Cornell's Institute for Prevention Research. The LST program is based on the latest scientific evidence of what causes drug abuse and how to best prevent it. This exciting program provides adolescents with the motivation and skills necessary to resist peer and media pressure to use drugs. It also provides them with the skills needed to deal with the challenges of life as an adolescent.

What are the main goals of the LST program?
The main goals of the LST program are to teach prevention-related information, promote anti-drug norms, teach drug refusal skills, and to foster the development of personal self-management skills and general social skills.

What age is the program designed for?
The LST program contains developmentally appropriate content. The LST Elementary School targets students in upper elementary school and is taught during either the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades or the 4th, 5th, and 6th grades. The LST Middle School program targets students attending middle or junior high school and is taught during either during the 6th, 7th, and 8th grades or the 7th, 8th, and 9th grades. The LST High School program targets high school students and is taught in the 9th or 10th grade.

In what environment/situation should LST be taught?
LST has been successfully taught in a variety of settings. It has been taught in school classrooms, after school programs, summer camps and community based organizations.

How long is the LST program and how is it structured?
The LST Elementary School program consists of 24 class sessions and can be implemented either as a stand-alone program or in combination with the Middle School program. Under ideal conditions, it is intended to be implemented in a sequential manner across all three years of upper elementary school. However, the elementary program is designed to be flexible and can be implemented over one, two, or three years, depending on the availability of time. Each level of the program contains 8 class sessions.

The LST Middle School program consists of 30 class sessions and is designed to be taught in sequence over three years. The first year of the program consists of 15 sessions (plus 3 optional violence prevention sessions), the second year consists of 10 sessions (plus 2 optional violence prevention sessions), and the third year consists of 5 sessions (plus 2 optional violence prevention sessions).