Promoting Prevention: preventing youth drug use in Swansea, UK, by targeting risk and protective factors

Abstract

The multi‐agency, multiple‐intervention Promoting Prevention initiative aims to prevent drug use and youth offending in Swansea. It was evaluated using a computer‐based interactive questionnaire with 580 young people aged 11–18 years. Results indicate that exposure to risk factors within the main domains of the young person's life (family, school, neighbourhood, psychological) significantly increases the likelihood that they will ever become involved in drug use (‘ever takers’), whilst ever takers are three times more likely to offend than young people who have never taken an illicit drug (‘never takers’). The evaluation indicates that Promoting Prevention's cross‐cutting, consultative and risk‐focused methodology is an effective way of targeting interventions to prevent and reduce drug use among young people in Swansea.

• prevention
• risk
• youth