|  | Conditions Treatments | Drug Addiction

Primary Prevention of Substance Abuse

Psychoactive substance abuse by adolescents can interfere with appropriate psychosocial development by causing academic, social and emotional problems. Substance-abusing teens often become drug-addicted adults who experience psychological, financial, legal, physical and interpersonal problems as a result of their substance abuse. While some research holds that drug abuse prevention programs can produce lasting and meaningful reductions in drug use, substance use among teens has become so typical since the psychedelic 60s, it is generally considered a rite of passage.

  1. Prevention Strategies That Don't Work

    • Research has demonstrated that some prevention strategies do not work. Providing only information on drugs and their effects, in an attempt to scare young people away from drug use, has not been shown to be effective. Self-esteem building, values clarification, lectures and large assemblies for the purpose of drug education have also failed to produce positive results. Strategies that have been found to be effective are listed and described below.

    Normative Education

    • Normative education is the process of educating young people about the low percentage of young people who actually abuse drugs and alcohol. Since it is the general belief among teens and, unfortunately, their parents that most kids use drugs, young people are tempted to experiment with alcohol and other substances to fit in, or to be more like the other kids. Actual surveys and opinion polls taken from other young people and fellow students are used to prove that the notion that "everybody is doing it" is false. If the typical adolescent needs to be like other kids, the strategy goes, then teach them that the way to do that is to avoid alcohol and drug use.

    Social Skills and Protective Factors

    • Social skills prevention strategies focus on teaching young people social skills that are negatively correlated with substance abuse. These social skills include comfort among their peers with decision making, communication and assertive behavior. Protective factor strategies encourage positive aspects of daily life, as opposed to focusing on drug use, or abuse. Protective factors include positive actions such as goal setting, meeting potential in achievement, volunteer work, respect for others and self, and building positive relationships with peers.

    Refusal Skills

    • Drug refusal skills are important skills for young people who do not wish to use drugs or alcohol, but lack assertive abilities. Drug refusal skills training is available in many drug prevention programs, and includes role-play sessions, during which one young person acts as the person having trouble refusing offers under pressure, and others role-play friends, relatives or acquaintances attempting to persuade the person to experiment with drugs or alcohol, or continue use. It is worth noting that drug refusal skills training will not be helpful for those young people who want to use drugs or alcohol due to curiosity, or because their prior experience with either was a positive one.

Drug Addiction - Related Articles