NCJ Number
211878
Journal
Drug and Alcohol Review Volume: 24 Issue: 2 Dated: March 2005 Pages: 111-125
Date Published
March 2005
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This paper explores the applicability of intervening earlier in the lives of young people before substance abuse becomes entrenched by using a mix of family, school, and broader social policy interventions.
Abstract
The pathways to substance misuse in young people involve a complex interplay between individual biological and psychological vulnerability, familial factors, and broader societal influences. A life course trajectory that results in ongoing substance misuse as an adolescent or young adult is one of several adverse outcomes of developmental health and well-being gone awry. Until recently, little attention was paid to the upstream individual, family, relationship, community, or societal antecedents of substance misuse that have operated during earlier life. For this reason, this paper explores the applicability of intervening earlier in the life-course before substance abuse becomes entrenched using a mix of family, school, and broader social policy interventions that have been shown to be effective in reducing the risks of other adverse developmental health and well-being outcomes. There is substantial evidence that effective early intervention strategies that include upstream social policy initiatives to downstream program development can be implemented across a variety of settings and developmental periods. The rational and more humane choice to make is effective upstream interventions that reduce the emergence of a broad range of problems of developmental health and well-being, including substance misuse. References