What is
Prevention?
Prevention is about delaying the onset of first use, or pushing it back as long as possible, whether alcohol, tobacco or marijuana—the most commonly used substances among teens.
What is Prevention?
What is Prevention - in the Community?
What about Substance Use and Genes?
What about Substance Use and Genes?
Substance use disorders can run in families.1 Research suggests that genetics account for about ½ of a person’s likelihood of developing a substance use disorder. Genes are the functional units of our DNA that direct the development and functioning of every cell in our bodies.
Some diseases, such as sickle cell anemia or cystic fibrosis, are caused by a “mutation” in a single gene. But many diseases, such as cancer, heart disease, and substance use disorder, involve variations in many different genes that contribute to a person’s overall level of risk and are also profoundly influenced by lifestyle and individual choices.
While we can’t change our genetics, knowing about family history of addiction empowers us to make different decisions about using addictive substances. Addiction has a ripple effect – when a person is struggling with substance use, it affects the lives of their family, friends and community. But because of the stigma surrounding this disease, many families have kept experiences with addiction a secret and sometimes even from one another for fear of being judged or discriminated against. Information is power when it comes to genetic risk.
Be honest with young people if they have a familial history of addiction and help them reduce their risk of developing a substance use disorder, by doing
things like:
- Delaying substance use until your brain has matured.
- Learning skills to help you cope with stress and express emotions in a healthy way,
- and practicing ways to refuse drugs or alcohol if they are offered to you.
Caregivers can help to strengthen protective factors for a young person who has a genetic risk for addiction by:
- setting clear expectations around no alcohol, tobacco, or drug use,
- helping them to find and pursue activities they’re passionate about, such as music, sports, or art,
- and investing in resilient, healthy communities where young people can thrive and feel a sense of belonging.
Other Videos to Watch
We also have special videos and presentations designed for community and faith-based organizations.
- Parent Boot Camp - "The Basics" for parents to know about raising teens
- Vaping - The Facts - Sessions for youth and adults
- Opioids and Addiction - Sessions for youth and adults
- Charlotte County - What the Data Says About Our Community and Teen Substance Use
Plus- we are happy to design a presentation on substance use topics of your choosing. Contact us: prevention@drugfreecc.org
Age Matters
Protect Your Brain
Mind Your Genes
Addiction and The Brain
What is Prevention?
The adolescent brain is rapidly developing, which makes it more vulnerable to alcohol and drugs than the adult brain. The adolescent brain continues to develop until a person is in their early to mid 20s, with the regions of the brain that keep emotions and impulses under control and help us make decisions among the last to develop.
This is also why adolescents are more likely to engage in risky behaviors and make impulsive decisions, such as trying drugs and alcohol in the first place.
Protecting the brain during this period of development is an important part of prevention. The earlier someone starts using substances, the greater their chances of developing a substance use disorder. Ninety percent of those who have a substance use disorder started using alcohol or drugs before they turned
Other factors that put an adolescent at risk besides the age of first use include parental substance use, trauma, and a lack of social attachments. These individual factors are part of the “big three” in prevention
- Individual
- Environmental
- Genetic
Environmental factors include high drug availability, poverty, and exposure to violence. And then there are genetic factors, which research suggests account for about half of a person’s likelihood of developing a SUD.While we can’t change our genetics, knowing about family history of SUD can help empower us to make different decisions about our substance use.For every risk factor, there is a protective factor to counter-balance it.Prevention focuses on strengthening the protective factors that we can control to decrease the likelihood that a person or community will struggle with addiction
What is Prevention – in the Community?
Prevention efforts focusing on the environment aim to build communities that protect adolescents from early substance use. All of the key sectors within a community come together to build coalitions and comprehensive strategies that reduce risk factors for substance misuse and addiction, such as high rates of poverty, social norms
and drug availability, and counterbalances them with protective factors, such as community engagement and healthy activities.
Coalitions bring partnerships to communities and each sector supports prevention efforts.
These strategies vary based on the unique needs of a particular community, and can include:
- changing social norms around substance use through awareness campaigns,
- educating people of all ages about the disease of addiction
- and teaching adults how to recognize the signs of substance use and intervene if a young person is struggling.
Community coalitions improve overall community health and increase the likelihood that young people will live lives free of addiction.
Prevention efforts also include policies that decrease drug availability – like imposing taxes on alcohol and tobacco, passing laws to regulate prescribing practices, and increase access to evidence-based treatments.
Prevention efforts improve the places where young people spend their time— like schools, public parks, libraries, churches, shopping malls— to promote attachment and community engagement, which reducesthe likelihood of substance use. Researchers have found that implementing proven prevention policies would save the US billions of dollarsannually.
More importantly, prevention saves lives.