Life skills
Life skills are abilities for adaptive and positive behaviour that enable individuals to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of everyday life.
Life skills education
Life skills education is designed to facilitate the practice and reinforcement of psychosocial skills in a culturally and developmentally appropriate way; it contributes to the promotion of personal and social development, the projection of human rights, and the prevention of health and social problems.
Life Skills education aims to include the promotion of responsible behaviour, self-confidence, equality and the prevention of prejudice and abuse.
The purpose of life skills education is to:
- Reinforce existing
- Knowledge
- Positive attitudes and values
- Pro-social and healthy skills and behaviour
Prevent or reduce
- Myths and misinformation
- Negative attitudes
- Risky behaviours
Life Skills and sub-skills that might be considered for inclusion in a drug use prevention program.
More information here:
Botvin, G.J. & Griffin, K.W. (2004). Life Skills Training: Empirical Findings and Future Directions. The Journal of Primary Prevention 25, 211–232. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:JOPP.0000042391.58573.5b
UNESCO, (2017). Good Policy and Practice in Health Education: Education sector responses to the use of alcohol, tobacco and substances.
UNICEF. (2001). Life skills – based education for drug use prevention. Training manual.
UNODC, (2013). International Standards on Drug Use Prevention. Vienna: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/prevention/preventionstandards.
