Expand and Improve Support for Youth Outreach and Leadership

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Background

A positive relationship between peer drug use and drug use among adolescents is well-established in scientific literature.[1][2][3][4][5] Recently, a study of teen and adult drivers showed that the reward-processing areas of the brains of teens are more active when their behavior is observed, suggesting that the "presence of peers is sufficient in itself to make risks feel more worthwhile to teens," including using drugs.[6]

One of the best tools to utilize in any prevention effort is early prevention education. Individuals who start using substances as youth have been shown to be much more likely to abuse them later in life. Students have been shown to be most likely to begin substance use during the adolescent years. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse: “ Collection of data from the National Survey of Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) on age at first use of illegal drugs across the U.S. begins at age 12 years, with data from 2014 indicating that 3.4 percent of 12- to 13-year-old children have used an illegal drug in the past month (including inappropriate use of prescription drugs), 2.1 percent are current alcohol users, and 1.1 percent are current tobacco users (CBHSQ, 2015). In 2015, NIDA’s annual Monitoring the Future (MTF) survey of adolescent drug use and attitudes showed that, by the time they are seniors, 64 percent of high school students have tried alcohol, almost half have taken an illegal drug, 31 percent have smoked a cigarette, and 18 percent have used a prescription drug for a nonmedical purpose.” [7] This is why it is so important to place an emphasis on proper prevention education in today’s youth. If they are properly implemented programs can help to provide real barriers to the first use and possible future abuse of substances.

Tools and Resources

School Based Prevention

Social Resistance Skills

In this type of training, students are taught how to recognize situations in which they are likely to face peer pressure and are given strategies to deal with these situations including formulating counter arguments.[8] This approach alone does not counteract peer pressure, but can be effective when used in conjunction with normative education.[9][10]
 

Normative Education

This approach attempts to counteract inaccurate perceptions of drug and alcohol abuse. According to Griffen and Botvin (2010) "Many adolescents overestimate the prevalence of smoking, drinking, and the use of certain drugs, which can make substance use seem to be normative behavior. Educating youth about actual rates of use, which are almost always lower than the perceived rates of use, can reduce perceptions regarding the social acceptability of drug use."[11] Studies have shown that normative education alone and in conjunction with social resistance training can be effective in reducing alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use among adolescents.[12]


Competence Enhancement/Life Skills Training (LST)

This approach focuses on the social learning processes that play a role in the development of drug use in adolescents. Students are taught some combination of the following life skills.

  •   general social skills and general assertive skills[13]
  •   adapting coping strategies for relieving stress and anxiety through use of cognitive coping skills or behavioral relaxation techniques 
  •   general cognitive skills for resisting interpersonal media influences
  •   skills for increasing self-control and self-esteem

LST is effective in reducing use of alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, and other psychoactive drugs and is estimated to save $38 for every dollar invested.[14]

TR - Train Youth in How to Resist Peer Pressure to Try Drugs

Promising Practices and Progams

Above the Influence

A national awareness campaign aimed at preventing youth from misuse of substances.

Parental Involvement

High levels of parental disapproval of drug use may mitigate the negative influence of drug-using peers.[15]

See Also: Empower & Strengthen Parents

 



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Sources

  1. ↑ [1]Santor, D. A., Messervey, D., & Kusumakar, V. (2000). Measuring Peer Pressure, Popularity, and Conformity in Adolescent Boys and Girls: Predicting School Performance, Sexual Attitudes, and Substance Abuse. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 29(2), 163–182. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005152515264
  2. ↑ [2]Dielman, T. E., et al.
  3. ↑ [3]Brooks-Russell, A., Conway, K. P., Liu, D., Xie, Y., Vullo, G. C., Li, K., … Simons-Morton, B. (2015). Dynamic Patterns of Adolescent Substance Use: Results From a Nationally Representative Sample of High School Students. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 76(6), 962–970. https://doi.org/10.15288/jsad.2015.76.962
  4. ↑ [4]Tucker, J. S., Ewing, B. A., Miles, J. N. V., Shih, R. A., Pedersen, E. R., & D’Amico, E. J. (2015). Predictors and consequences of prescription drug misuse during middle school. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 156, 254–260. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2015.09.018
  5. ↑ [5]McDonough, M. H., Jose, P. E., & Stuart, J. (2016). Bi-directional Effects of Peer Relationships and Adolescent Substance Use: A Longitudinal Study. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 45(8), 1652–1663. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-015-0355-4
  6. ↑ [6]Chein, J., Albert, D., O’Brien, L., Uckert, K., & Steinberg, L. (2011). Peers increase adolescent risk taking by enhancing activity in the brain’s reward circuitry. Developmental Science, 14(2), F1-10. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-7687.2010.01035.x
  7. ↑ National Institute on Drug Abuse. “Chapter 1: Why Is Early Childhood Important to Substance Abuse Prevention?” NIDA, www.drugabuse.gov/publications/principles-substance-abuse-prevention-early-childhood/chapter-1-why-early-childhood-important-to-substance-abuse-prevention#adolescent-drug-use.
  8. ↑ [7]Griffin, K. W., & Botvin, G. J. (2010). Evidence-Based Interventions for Preventing Substance Use Disorders in Adolescents. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 19(3), 505–526. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chc.2010.03.005
  9. ↑ [8]Hansen, W. B., & Graham, J. W. (1991). Preventing alcohol, marijuana, and cigarette use among adolescents: Peer pressure resistance training versus establishing conservative norms. Preventive Medicine, 20(3), 414–430. https://doi.org/10.1016/0091-7435(91)90039-7
  10. ↑ [9]Clayton, R. R., Cattarello, A. M., & Johnstone, B. M. (1996). The Effectiveness of Drug Abuse Resistance Education (Project DARE): 5-Year Follow-Up Results. Preventive Medicine, 25(3), 307–318. https://doi.org/10.1006/pmed.1996.0061
  11. ↑ [10]Griffin, K. W., & Botvin, G. J. (2010). Evidence-Based Interventions for Preventing Substance Use Disorders in Adolescents. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 19(3), 505–526. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chc.2010.03.005
  12. ↑ [11]Hansen, W. B., & Graham, J. W. (1991). Preventing alcohol, marijuana, and cigarette use among adolescents: Peer pressure resistance training versus establishing conservative norms. Preventive Medicine, 20(3), 414–430. https://doi.org/10.1016/0091-7435(91)90039-7
  13. ↑ [12]Griffin, K. W., & Botvin, G. J. (2010). Evidence-Based Interventions for Preventing Substance Use Disorders in Adolescents. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 19(3), 505–526. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chc.2010.03.005
  14. ↑ [13]Botvin, G. J., & Griffin, K. W. (2014). Life skills training: Preventing substance misuse by enhancing individual and social competence. New Directions for Youth Development, 2014(141), 57–65. https://doi.org/10.1002/yd.20086
  15. ↑ [14]Chan, G. C. K., Kelly, A. B., Carroll, A., & Williams, J. W. (2017). Peer drug use and adolescent polysubstance use: Do parenting and school factors moderate this association? Addictive Behaviors, 64, 78–81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2016.08.004
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