• Posts

Primary substance use prevention programs for children and youth: A systematic review

Year Published:

Abstract

An updated synthesis of research on substance abuse prevention programs can promote enhanced uptake of programs with proven effectiveness, particularly when paired with information relevant to practitioners and policy makers.To assess the strength of the scientific evidence for psychoactive substance abuse prevention programs for school-aged children and youth.A systematic review was conducted of studies published up until March 31, 2020.Articles on substance abuse prevention programs for school-aged children and youth were independently screened and included if they met eligibility criteria: (1) the program was designed for a general population of children and youth (ie, not designed for particular target groups), (2) the program was delivered to a general population, (3) the program only targeted children and youth, and (4) the study included a control group.Two reviewers independently evaluated study quality and extracted outcome data.Ninety studies met eligibility criteria, representing 16 programs. Programs evaluated with the largest combined sample sizes were Drug Abuse Resistance Education, Project Adolescent Learning Experiences Resistance Training, Life Skills Training (LST), the Adolescent Alcohol Prevention Trial, and Project Choice.Given the heterogeneity of outcomes measured in the included studies, it was not possible to conduct a statistical meta-analysis of program effectiveness.The most research has been conducted on the LST program. However, as with other programs included in this review, studies of LST effectiveness varied in quality. With this review, we provide an updated summary of evidence for primary prevention program effectiveness.

Citation

  • Tremblay, M., Baydala, L., Khan, M., Currie, C., Morley, K., Burkholder, C., Davidson, R., & Stillar, A. (2020). Primary substance use prevention programs for children and youth: A systematic review. Pediatrics, 146(3), e20192747.
Access Full Text

Relevant Evidence Summaries

The evidence was reviewed and included in the following summaries: 

What works to prevent or reduce substance use among newcomer populations?

Very strong evidence suggests that culturally adapted and family-centered substance use programs can be effective in immigrant and minority adolescents. Incorporating some level of cultural adaptation into a substance use program (even just translating materials) is associated with more positive outcomes in minority adolescents than maintaining the original format of a program. Programs that either…

About this study

AGE: Adolescents and/or Youth

DIRECTION OF EVIDENCE: Inconclusive or mixed impact

FULL TEXT AVAILABILITY: Paid

HOST COUNTRY: United States

INTERVENTION DURATION: Various

POPULATION: Other

STRENGTH OF EVIDENCE: Inconclusive or mixed impact

TYPE OF STUDY: Systematic review

YEAR PUBLISHED: 2020

More STUDIES

A systematic review of qualitative research on substance use among refugees

Aims To evaluate qualitative research on substance use and substance use disorders (SUDs) among refugees in terms of practitioners’ and substance users’ attitudes, beliefs and experiences. Methods Six medical, allied health and social sciences databases (EBSCO, PubMed, ScienceDirect, Web of Science, Scholar and the Cochrane Library) were systematically searched in a time frame between January…

The impact of a parent-based prevention intervention on Mexican-descent youths’ perceptions of harm associated to drug use: Differential intervention effects for male and female youths

Parent training (PT) interventions reduce the likelihood of youth problematic behaviors, including drug use. However, the dissemination of culturally adapted PT interventions in low‐income Latina/o immigrant communities remains scarce. In this selective prevention study, we examined the extent to which exposure to CAPAS‐Youth, a culturally adapted version of the PT intervention known as GenerationPMTO©, resulted…

Families preparing a new generation: Adaptation of an adolescent substance use intervention for Burmese refugee families

Refugees frequently experience histories of trauma and stress of acculturation, which place them at a high risk for mental health and substance use problems. Although recently arrived foreign-born youths report lower rates of substance use than their American peers, substance use rates for children in refugee families often increase as acculturation occurs. We describe the…