Prevention

Adolescent substance use is a serious health issue that can lead to lifelong medical, social, financial, and psychological consequences. Providers who work with adolescents have the unique opportunity to implement prevention strategies for substance use. The prevention of substance use can be complex, but a diverse group of programs demonstrate promising results. In this chapter we will discuss community-, family-, school-, and individual-based prevention programs that target a range of ages. Some programs are focused on at-risk youth, while others are meant to be universally implemented. They may try to increase protective factors like communication with parents, a strong bond to school, or academic success. They may also try to mitigate risk factors like academic failure, anxiety, depression, or living within family with a high level of conflict. Despite some of the promising programs described in this chapter, further research is necessary in order to find the most effective strategies for adolescent substance use prevention, particularly with regard to certain substances that have been relatively understudied to date.