This review set out to evaluate the effectiveness of brief school‐based interventions for adolescent substance use.
The authors conducted the original literature search in March 2013 and performed the search update to February 2015. For both review stages (original and update), they searched 10 electronic databases and six websites on evidence‐based interventions, and the reference lists of included studies and reviews, from 1966 to February 2015. They also contacted authors and organizations to identify any additional studies. They found low‐ or very low‐quality evidence that brief school‐based interventions may be more effective in reducing alcohol and cannabis use than the assessment‐only condition and that these reductions were sustained at long‐term follow‐up. They found moderate‐quality evidence that, when compared to information provision, brief interventions probably did not have a significant effect on substance use outcomes. It is premature to make definitive statements about the effectiveness of brief school‐based interventions for reducing adolescent substance use. Further high‐quality studies examining the relative effectiveness of BIs for substance use and other problem behaviors need to be conducted, particularly in low‐ and middle‐income countries. (Published abstract provided)