What has been a good preventative program of ATOD abuse centered on the family for those still in adolescence?

What has been a good preventative program of ATOD abuse centered on the family for those still in adolescence?

Many of the most successful preventative programs have been noted to heavily rely on community empowerment to bring about change. Essentially, the members in the community agree that this behavior (drug abuse) is unwanted and because of social pressures the abusing parties go elsewhere or simply stop. Former efforts had been to outlaw alcohol or put a high tax on tobacco to discourage use but it was ruled ineffective. Many of the programs now involve special agents (parent, pastors, and other authority figures) to lead the charge in the community toward a healthier drug free environment for the safety and health of the next generation. Empowering the communities and individuals to know that they can make a difference to change the current state of their neighborhood is the biggest hurdle in these types of programs. Coalitions are then formed in different neighborhoods to start effecting the town or city at large.  

Parents educating and empowering their kids to help them make informed decisions about ATOD allows for a community that works together to prevent the social injustices that often come as a result of ATOD abuse (violence, robbery, death). Taking the mass of people and putting them on one goal for the community creates unity and positive peer pressure.

Mass media is used effectively because of its long reach and profound effect on the minds and ideologies of the individuals in the community. Educational programming and information is more readily and widely distributed across TV and newspaper to help reduce these problems. The best effect is seen when mass media is supplemented by in school programs to promote healthy choices by youths.

It is only with changes in political policy that the availability of many of these drugs can be reduced. Higher risk for possession of illegal substances, or higher taxation on many of the companies that supply these drugs helps to deter consumers from buying these products.

It appears that it takes the individual, schools, media, and government to work together to promote a healthy atmosphere to where both parents and kids can make the right decisions in deterring drugs from ever entering their community or stifling its effect if already rooted.

On a personal note, I had worked retail and a major grocery store and often worked as a cashier. Several times I was asked to retrieve a particular cigarette or sell alcohol to a customer. Retrieving the cigarettes made me very uncomfortable as I knew that they are bad for your health and I wanted to tell the customer what I knew. Unfortunately I didn’t, as for fear of being fired. The sell of alcohol, however, did not bother me as much because I knew that in moderation that it is less harmful. Selling to college aged students elicited the same uncomfortable feeling as the selling of cigarettes because I knew the chances of the college students abusing the alcohol by binge drinking was high. Again, I wanted to warn them but not wanting to cause a scene I refrained from telling them to be careful or to not get drunk. These feelings are very visceral telling me that these things are wrong and I hope that the next generation doesn’t have to deal with these complicated issues as much as my generation.

 

Reference: Aguirre-Molina, M., & Gorman, D. M. (1996). Community-based approaches for the prevention of alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use. Annual review of public health, 17(1), 337-358.

Seth Mayfield