Substance abuse prevention
A concept that is known as "environmental prevention" focuses on changing community conditions or policies so that the availability of substances is reduced as well as the demand.
Environmental factors in the individual's adolescence include: child abuse, exposure to substances, lack of supervision, media influence, and peer pressure.
Internal factors, which are personality-based or psychological, include low self-esteem, poor social skills, stress, attitudes about drugs, and mental disorders.
[5] A few more factors that contribute to teen drug abuse are lack of or poor parent to child communication,[6] unsupervised accessibility of alcohol at home, having too much freedom and being left alone for long periods of time.
[7] Additionally, there is evidence that gender moderates the effect of family, school and peer factors on adolescent substance use.
[8] For example, some studies report that not living with both biological parents or having poor parent-adolescent communication is associated with substance use, especially in female adolescents.
Some of these transitional periods that could increase the possibility of youth using drugs are puberty, moving, divorce, leaving the security of the home, and entering school.
Yet, some[quantify] teens living with dual diagnosis prove that there is not always a causal relationship between mental illness and a substance use disorder.
These individuals believe changes won't be made until an extreme event happens i.e. a friend overdoses, a car accident or even death.
Research confirms the benefits of parents providing consistent rules and discipline, talking to children about drugs, monitoring their activities, getting to know their friends, understanding their problems and concerns, and being involved in their learning.
[18] Smit, Verdurmen, Monshouwer, and Smil conducted research analysis to measure the effectiveness of family interventions about teen and adolescence drug and alcohol use.
[20] There are a number of community-based prevention programs and classes that aim to educate children and families about the harms of substance use.
Incorporating prevention studies into classroom curricula at a young age has been shown to break early behaviors that may signal an increased risk of developing a substance use disorder.
[22][23] Prevention programs work at the community level with civic, religious, law enforcement, and other government organizations to enhance anti-drug norms and pro-social behaviors.
[29] Research has shown that extra effort in providing incentives, flexible schedules, personal contact, and the public support of important community leaders helps attract and retain program participants.
This is used for newborns that became exposed to opioids in utero, and it gives nurses the opportunity to educate their patients on how to reduce the side effects of addiction.
The Drug Enforcement Administration, a Federal partner in Red Ribbon Week, describes it as “the most far-reaching and well-known drug prevention event in America.” Through the efforts of the NFP, other national organizations, Federal and State agencies, and communities, Red Ribbon Week has become more than a call to action.
It has grown to be a unifying symbol of family and community dedication to preventing the use of alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drugs among youth.
Their purpose is to provide information or therapy referrals to anyone experiencing substance use disorders or mental health issues.
[39] Successful intervention programs typically involve high levels of interactivity, time-intensity, and universal approaches that are delivered in the middle school years.
