Prevention Programs in Middle School May Reduce Later Prescription Drug Use
Substance abuse prevention programs that begin in middle
school may help deter prescription drug abuse in later years, new
research suggests.
Scientists analyzed findings from three studies of family- and
school-based prevention programs designed for rural and small-town
middle school students. They found students who went through substance
abuse prevention programs were 20 percent to 65 percent less likely to
abuse prescription drugs and opioids when they were between 17 and 25
years old, compared with students who did not participate in the
programs.
The programs focused on general risk and protective factors of
substance abuse. “Brief universal interventions have potential for
public health impact by reducing prescription drug misuse among
adolescents and young adults,” the researchers wrote in the American Journal of Public Health.
“The intervention effects were comparable or even stronger for
participants who had started misusing substances prior to the middle
school interventions, suggesting that these programs also can be
successful in higher-risk groups,” lead author Richard Spoth, PhD, from
the Partnerships in Prevention Science Institute at Iowa State
University in Ames, said in a news release.
Nora Volkow, MD, Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse,
noted that prescription medications can be helpful when they are
prescribed to treat pain, anxiety, or attention-deficit/hyperactivity
disorder. “However, their abuse can have serious consequences. We are
especially concerned about prescription drug abuse among teens, who are
developmentally at an increased risk for addiction,” she said.
