Psychoactive substance use and adolescence (part I): prevention

Abstract

It is generally accepted that the best predictor of experimentation with both illicit and licit substances by young people is being young.

The context of the initiation and maintenance of adolescent substance use in developed and developing countries is described, as are the functional nature of much substance use by young people and possible consequences of such use. The view is put that school-based prevention efforts to date have yielded few positive results. Suggestions are made to increase the effectiveness of interventions; particularly by increased involvement of the target population(s) and attention to non-school variables such as the family and the community.