This article presents the short-term effects of a
pilot study of keepin’it REAL (Manténte REAL) conducted
in central Mexico by a binational team of investigators. This
middle school-based model program for preventing substance
use was adapted for Mexico linguistically but not
culturally. Two Guadalajara public middle schools were
recruited and randomly assigned to either implement the
prevention program or serve as a control site. The program
was implemented in the treatment site by the students’ regular
teachers, who were trained by the research team. Seventh
graders in ten classrooms in the treatment and control
schools (N=432) completed a pretest and posttest survey in
Spanish similar to the survey utilized in the original efficacy
trial of keepin’it REAL in the US. T-tests and OLS regressions
were conducted to determine the effects of the intervention
on substance use outcomes. Differences between
treatment and control groups in frequency of use of alcohol
and tobacco, the two substances of choice in this sample,
were significant and in the desired direction. Differences in
amount of use were also in the preferred direction but were
not significant for alcohol and only marginally significant for
tobacco. When the sample was split by gender, statistically
significant treatment effects remained for females but were
not observed among males. Effects of the linguistically
adapted version of keepin’it REAL appears to be driven by
the change in female use; however, the difference in male
and female outcomes was not statistically significant. Implications
for cultural adaptation and prevention in Mexico are
discussed from a communication competency perspective.
The promising results of the pilot study suggest that the
linguistic adaptation was effective, but that a comprehensive
cultural adaptation of keepin’it REAL in partnership with
Mexican investigators and communities may be warranted.