Does PROERD work? Notes from quasi-experimental study

Authors

Abstract

The objective of the article is to discuss the efficiency of the Drug and Violence Resistance Program (PROERD), implemented in all Brazilian states by the Military Police. The research methodology, carried out in 2018, is a quasi-experimental, self report study, which included the selection of two groups of students from a municipal school in Porto Alegre: an intervention group with students who had participated in PROERD in 2015 and 2016 and a control group with students of the same age group who had not attended it. We found that participation in PROERD did not have any preventive effect on drug use or impact on school performance. The study showed, however, that other independent variables, such as not living with parents, not having a good relationship with them, having suffered physical violence, having been humiliated or threatened in the school environment and living with a family member who consumes alcoholic beverages, are correlated significantly with drug use and poor school performance, which suggests that they may be predictive factors for these phenomena. Empirical studies measuring results in the area of public security are still rare in Brazil, a circumstance that adds value to this work. The evidence found by the study, moreover, may be important for the definition of public policies in the area.


Keywords: PROERD, evaluation, drug prevention.

Author Biographies

Marcos Rolim, Centro Universitário Ritter dos Reis – UniRitter, Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil.

Doutor (2014) e mestre (2008) em Sociologia pela UFRGS, instituição onde realiza seu pós-doutoramento. É especialista em Segurança Pública pela Universidade de Oxford, UK (2004)) e jornalista graduado pela UFSM (1990). É professor do mestrado em Direitos Humanos do Centro Universitário Ritter dos Reis (UniRitter).

Daiana Hermann, Meta Instituto de Pesquisa de Opinião, Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil.

Doutora (2018) em Sociologia e mestra (2011) em Antropologia Social pela UFRGS, com graduação em Ciências Sociais (2009) pela UNISC. Foi bolsista do Programa PSDE da CAPES na Universidade de Paris Nanterre. É analista de pesquisa na Meta Instituto de Pesquisa de Opinião.

Camila Louis Oliveira, Centro de Promoção da Criança e do Adolescente São Francisco de Assis, Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil.

Especialista (2019) em Direitos Humanos e Políticas Públicas pela UNISINOS e especialista (2015) em Saúde Mental Coletiva pelo Programa de Residência Integrada em Saúde do Grupo Hospitalar Conceição. É graduada em Psicologia (2012) pela ULBRA e atua no Centro de Promoção da Criança e do Adolescente São Francisco de Assis.

Downloads

Published

2021-01-22

Issue

Vol. 56 No. 3 (2020): Setembro/Dezembro

Section

Articles

License

I grant the journal Ciências Sociais Unisinos the first publication of my article, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution license (which allows sharing of work, recognition of authorship and initial publication in this journal).

I confirm that my article is not being submitted to another publication and has not been published in its entirely on another journal. I take full responsibility for its originality and I will also claim responsibility for charges from claims by third parties concerning the authorship of the article.

I also agree that the manuscript will be submitted according to the journal’s publication rules described above.