2026-10-13 · Board Packet · Page 71

Visit www.lifeskillstraining.com for more information. 
Botvin LifeSkills Training (LST)
Evidence-based prevention for healthy and drug-free youth
About the Developer:
LifeSkills Training (LST) was developed by Dr. Gilbert
J. Botvin, a renowned expert on prevention and
health behavior.  Dr. Botvin is currently a Professor
Emeritus of Psychology in Public Health at Cornell
University’s Weill Medical College. Dr. Botvin is widely
acknowledged to be one of the leading experts in
the world on tobacco, alcohol, and drug abuse
prevention. He has more than 260 scientific papers
and book chapters to his credit and has presented
at over 300 national and international conferences.
Personal Self-Management 
Skills
Students learn critical
skills related to reducing
their susceptibility  to
substance use or other
health risk behaviors.  
They learn skills such as goal-setting,
decision-making, healthy ways to cope
with stress and more.
Social & Communication
Skills
Students learn skills to
help them navigate
interactions in social
settings and
communicate effectively
when interacting with 
their peers and others. They learn skills
such as communicating effectively, verbal
and non-verbal communication, how to
start, continue, and end a conversation.
Drug Resistance Skills
Botvin LST is a tested and proven effective prevention approach that has been selected for the highest honors by
more government agencies and health organizations than any other prevention program. Due to the large body
of scientific evidence supporting it, LST is widely regarded as the top evidence-based based prevention program
available. For more information about LST, visit www.lifeskillstraining.com.
Students learn the
information and skills
needed to recognize and
resist peer pressure and
media influences that
promote substance use 
and other unhealthy behaviors. Included
are skills for identifying persuasive
advertising tactics and media messages;
refusal skills to resist peer pressure
Botvin LifeSkills Training (LST) is an evidence-based
series of programs designed to provide elementary,
middle, and high school students with the knowledge
and skills needed to lead happy, healthy, and drug-
free lives.
LST teaches health information about the harmful
effects of tobacco, alcohol and illicit drug use. It also
teaches students the skills needed to build
confidence, make pro-health choices, resist peer
pressure, and develop resilience. LST has been
extensively tested and proven effective. Overall, LST
focuses on three major areas: Personal Self-
Management Skills, Social & Communication Skills,
and Drug Resistance Skills.