<![CDATA[Drug abuse among adolescents is an important concern because it can negatively affect physical and psychological health as well as social functioning, while junior high school students are considered vulnerable to environmental and peer influences. This condition highlights the importance of preventive efforts through educational activities that can increase students’ knowledge and understanding of the risks and prevention of drug abuse. This community service activity aimed to improve the understanding of students at SMP Negeri 31 Makassar regarding the dangers of drug abuse and its prevention. The activity involved 34 students representing grades VII and VIII and the student council (OSIS) and employed a community education method in the form of psychoeducation and counseling. The activity consisted of preparation, material delivery using a combination of lecture and jigsaw methods, ice-breaking activities, and evaluation using a pretest-posttest design. The evaluation instrument consisted of 10 multiple-choice questions administered before and after the counseling session, and the data were analyzed using a paired t-test. The results showed an increase in the students’ mean understanding score from 64.14 in the pre-test to 75.86 in the post-test. The analysis resulted in a significance value of 0.000 (p < 0.05), indicating a significant difference in students’ understanding before and after the counseling activity. These findings indicate that the psychoeducational activity contributed to improving students’ understanding of the dangers and prevention of drug abuse.]]>
