Substance Use Disorders Prevention in Adolescents

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Primary prevention
Demand reduction
Prevention Programs in schools

Introduction

Substance use disorders present a great danger for people’s health and well-being, especially children and adolescents. Affected teenagers often find themselves facing the consequences of drug use going into adulthood, ranging from physical problems and crime involvement to sexually transmitted infections and psychological health problems. To prevent such an outcome and to ensure the proper development of young minds, preventive measures against drug use must be taken. It is important to recognize that there are substantial challenges for the appropriate assessment of the risks and problems that may be experienced by young people and children. There are also challenges in designing appropriately matched treatment and support as there is little experience of service delivery. This paper aims to formulate an SUD prevention plan for children and adolescents.

Primary prevention

Primary prevention is an activity aimed at preventing SUD by discouraging people from taking up dangerous substances in the first place. Prevention programs help to reduce the social and health consequences of substance abuse and can be implemented on both individual and community levels, broadening its reach. Primary prevention is especially important for younger people, as adolescence is a sensitive time for the development of both mind and body. Young people exposed to drugs or alcohol may develop anti-social or high-risk behaviour and display structural deficiencies in the development of the brain compared to their peers.

Demand reduction

One of the ways to aid in the prevention of SUD’s is to reduce the demand for substances in a particular demographic. This goal can be achieved by either promoting protective practices or by means of modifying the factors that make people vulnerable to substance abuse. Reducing demand is a way to tackle the assessed problem by reducing the negative consequences, spreading public awareness in clear, accurate terms, and providing assistance to those in need. This approach helps promote a community-wide approach to analyzing the issue and focuses on particularly vulnerable demographics, especially the youth.

Prevention Programs in schools

Different prevention programs exist to aid various age demographics, however the main focus of this essay will be on the school-based prevention methods. Various prevention programs for youth should primarily take place in schools, as they offer access to a large number of people at once, which is an efficient way to tackle the problem. As it is difficult to determine what exactly facilitates drug and alcohol use, a range of prevention methods has been implemented to tackle the problem from multiple sides. On the topic of delivering the information, it has been proven that interactive education programs that require active participation from students are generally more effective at teaching kids about drugs. Another important aspect is of school prevention is who gets to deliver the information. Usually, drug education is delivered by a teacher or an invited speaker. Efforts were made to deliver the information to pupils by their peers, though the evidence is mixed on whether this approach is more effective. Younger children are more likely to listen and believe in the words of a teacher, as they still have influence over their minds. Older children and teenagers, however, are more prone to listening to their peers due to rejecting authority and accepting someone their age as a voice of reason. The particulars of choosing the one to educate students are best determined on a case-by-case basis, as some classes of children have wildly different environments.

The plan for preventing substance use in children and adolescents should be mainly focused on affirming drug use as a non-normative human behaviour, recognizing what social influences facilitate SUD and teaching the ways of resisting them. The programs must offer a wide variety of approaches, including introducing kids to life skills and activities encouraging positive behavior, as a way to offer an alternative to drugs in regard to dealing with life’s challenges. Such programs preferably need to be reinforced over a long period of time, encourage active participation, and be adaptable to an individual student’s needs. Another approach not to be overlooked is based on competence enhancement. This program primarily focuses on improving general and social skills of the pupils, making the youth less susceptible to drug and alcohol use. Such skills serve not only to discourage SUD, but to aid the pupils in their day-to-day life as well. Introducing the children to various decision-making and problem-solving skills will improve their mental well-being through the social learning process. Lastly, prevention programs should touch upon the behavioral models often used in persuasive situations. The teacher needs to exemplify the common tactics used to coerce people into trying drugs or alcohol and then explain how to properly counter them. Explaining to pupils the ways to clearly articulate their refusal and avoid the pressure lines as a way to safeguard themselves from potential danger. This multi-faceted approach could help convince the most amount of children, as well as offer them ways to deal with this issue themselves later on in life.

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Substance Use Disorders Prevention in Adolescents

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