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Biased Beliefs and Substance Abuse: Evaluating a Video-Based Drug Prevention Curriculum in Vocational Institutes in Punjab, India

Last registered on October 13, 2025
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Biased Beliefs and Substance Abuse: Evaluating a Video-Based Drug Prevention Curriculum in Vocational Institutes in Punjab, India
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0016913
Initial registration date
October 10, 2025

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
October 13, 2025, 11:06 AM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

Country
India
Region
Punjab

Primary Investigator

Name
Madeline Duhon
Affiliation
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Supreet Kaur
PI Affiliation
UC Berkeley
Contact Investigator
PI Name
Aprajit Mahajan
PI Affiliation
UC Berkeley
Contact Investigator
PI Name
Shreya Sarkar
PI Affiliation
UC Berkeley
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2025-09-01
End date
2027-06-30
Keywords
Behavior, Education, Health, Labor
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
This project will evaluate the large-scale implementation of a video-based drug prevention program in Vocational Institutes (VIs) in the state of Punjab, India. With the support of the government of Punjab, we will use an RCT to evaluate the effect of the intervention on student beliefs, educational outcomes, and subsequent labor market outcomes. Results will inform the government’s decisions about whether to formally and permanently integrate the program into the standard curriculum in secondary schools and Vocational Institutes across the state.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Duhon, Madeline et al. 2025. "Biased Beliefs and Substance Abuse: Evaluating a Video-Based Drug Prevention Curriculum in Vocational Institutes in Punjab, India." AEA RCT Registry. October 13. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.16913-1.0
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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
The intervention is a video based curriculum designed to correct misperceptions about drug addiction among youth. It uses engaging and culturally relevant media content to target key misperceptions about the risks of experimenting with and using drugs. The drug prevention program consists of a series of videos designed to be screened in a classroom setting, along with a set of worksheets and guided discussion questions. The videos are professionally produced short (~10 minutes) pieces that present personal experiences with addiction and recovery presented in a culturally and age-appropriate manner.
Intervention Start Date
2025-10-01
Intervention End Date
2026-03-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
- Beliefs: Student beliefs related about the addictiveness of drugs
- Course completion
- Employment: Job placement and earnings
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Drug use: (1) institute-level, from wastewater testing, and/or (2) individual-level, from anonymous and optional drug testing (including accounting for refusal rates)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)
Outcomes related to drug use and health are considered primary outcomes, however listed here as secondary outcomes since their collection and inclusion is subject to whether it is feasible to include and analyze these outcomes.

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The study includes all vocational institutes in Punjab (including ITIs and polytechnics). Institutes will be randomly assigned into either a Treatment (50%) or Control (50%) group, stratifying by geography (district) and type of institute (ITI versus Polytechnic Institute).

Institutes assigned to the treatment group receive the full curriculum, along with an in-person instructor training and intensive implementation and monitoring support. Institutes assigned to the control group will not receive the drug prevention program during the first phase of the study.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
By computer, using Stata.
Randomization Unit
Institutes
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
408 institutes
Sample size: planned number of observations
Up to 65,000 students
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
50% of institutes (approximately 204) will be assigned to treatment, and 50% of institutes (approximately 204) will be assigned to control.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Power calculations are based on 80% power and a 0.05 Type 1 error probability. Our preferred ICC is 0.06, based on a mid-point of the ICCs for drug use among adolescents documented in Resnicow et a (2010). Our estimates support that the study is well-powered to detect effects of between 5% to 13% improvements in various beliefs, a 4.3pp increase in placement rates, a 4.4pp reduction in dropouts, a 4.2pp increase in attendance, and a 1.9pp reduction in drug use.
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
IFMR
IRB Approval Date
2022-12-15
IRB Approval Number
N/A; “Preventing Drug Use in India”
IRB Name
NBER
IRB Approval Date
2024-08-29
IRB Approval Number
Ref#24_176
IRB Name
NBER
IRB Approval Date
2023-02-23
IRB Approval Number
Ref#23_005
Analysis Plan