Prevention Programs

The route to addiction is a complex interaction between individual biological and psychological factors, developmental maturation, family variables, and each individual's social context. The goal of psychoactive drug abuse prevention can be very narrow, as in complete abstinence, or more broadly defined as a reduction in the prevalence of the misuse and abuse of drugs or the reduction in the incidence, duration, or intensity of undesirable developmental outcomes through a sustained change in drug using behavior. The use of psychoactive substances is a universal phenomenon with a peak risk between the ages of 10 and 20, with the preadolescent years of 10 to 12 being a particularly vulnerable period for the development of early substance abuse. Delaying use can significantly reduce the risk of severe ...