These
principles are intended to help
parents, educators, and community
leaders think about, plan for, and
deliver research-based drug abuse
prevention programs at the community
level. The references following each
principle are representative of
current research.
Risk
Factors and Protective Factors |
PRINCIPLE
1 -
Prevention programs should enhance
protective factors and reverse or
reduce risk factors.
- The risk
of becoming a drug abuser involves
the relationship among the number
and type of risk factors (e.g.,
deviant attitudes and behaviors)
and protective factors (e.g.,
parental support).
- The
potential impact of specific risk
and protective factors changes
with age. For example, risk
factors within the family have
greater impact on a younger child,
while association with
drug-abusing peers may be a more
significant risk factor for an
adolescent.
- Early
intervention with risk factors
(e.g., aggressive behavior and
poor self-control) often has a
greater impact than later
intervention by changing a
child’s life path (trajectory)
away from problems and toward
positive behaviors.
- While risk
and protective factors can affect
people of all groups, these
factors can have a different
effect depending on a person’s
age, gender, ethnicity, culture,
and environment.
PRINCIPLE
2 -
Prevention programs should address all
forms of drug abuse, alone or in
combination, including the underage
use of legal drugs (e.g., tobacco or
alcohol); the use of illegal drugs
(e.g., marijuana or heroin); and the
inappropriate use of legally obtained
substances (e.g., inhalants),
prescription medications, or
over-the-counter drugs.
PRINCIPLE
3 -
Prevention programs should address the
type of drug abuse problem in the
local community, target modifiable
risk factors, and strengthen
identified protective factors.
PRINCIPLE
4 -
Prevention programs should be tailored
to address risks specific to
population or audience
characteristics, such as age, gender,
and ethnicity, to improve program
effectiveness.
Family
Programs
PRINCIPLE
5 -
Family-based prevention programs
should enhance family bonding and
relationships and include parenting
skills; practice in developing,
discussing, and enforcing family
policies on substance abuse; and
training in drug education and
information.
Family bonding is the bedrock of the
relationship between parents and
children. Bonding can be strengthened
through skills training on parent
supportiveness of children,
parent-child communication, and
parental involvement.
- Parental
monitoring and supervision are
critical for drug abuse
prevention. These skills can be
enhanced with training on
rule-setting; techniques for
monitoring activities; praise for
appropriate behavior; and
moderate, consistent discipline
that enforces defined family
rules.
- Drug
education and information for
parents or caregivers reinforces
what children are learning about
the harmful effects of drugs and
opens opportunities for family
discussions about the abuse of
legal and illegal substances.
- Brief,
family-focused interventions for
the general population can
positively change specific
parenting behavior that can reduce
later risks of drug abuse.
School
Programs
PRINCIPLE
6 -
Prevention programs can be designed to
intervene as early as preschool to
address risk factors for drug abuse,
such as aggressive behavior, poor
social skills, and academic
difficulties.
PRINCIPLE
7 -
Prevention programs for elementary
school children should target
improving academic and
social-emotional learning to address
risk factors for drug abuse, such as
early aggression, academic failure,
and school dropout. Education should
focus on the following skills:
- self-control;
- emotional
awareness;
- communication;
- social
problem-solving; and
- academic
support, especially in reading.
PRINCIPLE
8 -
Prevention programs for middle or
junior high and high school students
should increase academic and social
competence with the following skills:
- study
habits and academic support;
- communication;
- peer
relationships;
- self-efficacy
and assertiveness;
- drug
resistance skills;
- reinforcement
of anti-drug attitudes; and
- strengthening
of personal commitments against
drug abuse.
Community
Programs
PRINCIPLE
9 -
Prevention programs aimed at general
populations at key transition points,
such as the transition to middle
school, can produce beneficial effects
even among high-risk families and
children. Such interventions do not
single out risk populations and,
therefore, reduce labeling and promote
bonding to school and community.
PRINCIPLE
10 -
Community prevention programs that
combine two or more effective
programs, such as family-based and
school-based programs, can be more
effective than a single program alone.
PRINCIPLE
11 -
Community prevention programs reaching
populations in multiple settings—for
example, schools, clubs, faith-based
organizations, and the media—are
most effective when they present
consistent, community-wide messages in
each setting.
Prevention
Program Delivery |
PRINCIPLE
12 - When
communities adapt programs to match
their needs, community norms, or
differing cultural requirements, they
should retain core elements of the
original research-based intervention
which include:
- Structure
(how the program is organized and
constructed);
- Content
(the information, skills, and
strategies of the program); and
- Delivery
(how the program is adapted,
implemented, and evaluated).
PRINCIPLE 13 -
Prevention programs should be
long-term with repeated interventions
(i.e., booster programs) to reinforce
the original prevention goals.
Research shows that the benefits from
middle school prevention programs
diminish without follow-up programs in
high school.
PRINCIPLE
14 -
Prevention programs should include
teacher training on good classroom
management practices, such as
rewarding appropriate student
behavior. Such techniques help to
foster students’ positive behavior,
achievement, academic motivation, and
school bonding.
PRINCIPLE
15 -
Prevention programs are most effective
when they employ interactive
techniques, such as peer discussion
groups and parent role-playing, that
allow for active involvement in
learning about drug abuse and
reinforcing skills.
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