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Prevention has three main goals:
- To prevent or delay substance use.
- To reduce substance misuse.
- To reduce the problems associated with substance misuse.
Prevention is most effective when it comes from every direction:
- home and family
- school
- community
- social norms
- media
1.
Research shows that effective programs have several key components. They:
- are based on research about what works in prevention education.
- are ongoing from kindergarten through high school but intensify just prior to the
average age of first use.
- involve students in curriculum planning and implementation.
- use interactive teaching techniques.
- provide teacher training and support.
- are based on a health promotion model.
- include parents and community as part of their overall prevention strategy
Content should:
Delivery is most effective when it:
- provides a tolerant atmosphere that encourages open dialogue.
- emphasizes active learning about drug effects and uses interactive delivery methods (small-group discussion and role play).
- is led by people the students trust and who present the facts accurately and in an unbiased manner.
School-based programs are most effective when they are reinforced in the community by parents, the media, and health policies.
Protective Factors
When researchers looked at the factors that protect youth from problematic drug and alcohol use they discovered that the most important and powerful factors are:
Teachers and parents working together are a formidable force.
 How can teachers make a difference?
1. Sources: Eleven Components of Effective Drug Abuse Prevention Curricula. Journal of School Health, December 1995, Vol. 65, No. 10.
Leadership in Prevention: I The Basics, Colin Mangham, PhD., Prevention Source BC, December 2000.
Alcohol and Drug Prevention Programs for Youth: What Works? 1999. Toronto, Ontario: Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.
Preventing Substance Abuse Problem Among Young People: A Compendium of Best Practices. The Prevention of Substance Use, Risk and Harm in Australia: a review of the evidence.
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