Prevention and Education

What is prevention? 

Substance use prevention work involves a range of activities aimed at educating and supporting individuals and communities to prevent the use and misuse of substances. This work is critical for promoting behavioral and physical health, as it addresses the underlying reasons for substance misuse and creates effective interventions. Prevention strategies may include information dissemination, education, alternative activities, problem identification and referral to services, and community-based processes. 

Prevention aims to tackle the root cause of the issue and be proactive rather than reactive with the goal of stopping substance misuse before it ever happens. This is often done by addressing internal and external, risk and protective factors. 

Risk factors are biological, psychological, family, community, and cultural characteristics that are associated with increased likelihood of beginning substance use and of regular and harmful use. Whereas Protective factors are shown to decrease the likelihood of substance use or reduce the impact of risk factors. 

Risk Factors: 

Known to predict increased likelihood of drug use, delinquency, school dropout, and violent behaviors among youth, risk factors are characteristics of community, family, and school environments, and of students and their peer groups. For example, children who live in families with high levels of conflict are more likely to become involved in delinquency and substance use than children who live in families characterized by lower levels of conflict.

Risk Factors Include: 

• Low Neighborhood Attachment 
• Perceived Availability of Drugs 
• Community Laws and Norms Favorable Toward Substance Use 
• Family History of Anti-Social Behavior 
• Poor Family Management 
• Family Conflict 
• Parental Attitudes Favorable Toward Substance Use 
• Academic Failure 
• Low Commitment to School 
• Rebelliousness 
• Gang Involvement 
• Low Perceived Risk of Substance Use 
• Peer/Individual Attitudes Favorable toward Antisocial Behavior and substance use 
• Friend’s substance use 
• Interaction with antisocial peers 
• Depressive Symptoms 

Protective Factors: 

Protective factors identified through research include strong bonding to community, family, school, and peers, and healthy beliefs and clear standards for behavior. Protective bonding depends on three conditions: opportunities for young people to actively contribute, skills to be able to successfully contribute, and consistent recognition or reinforcement for their efforts and accomplishments. 

Protective Factors include: 

• Community Rewards for Prosocial Involvement 
• Positive Family Attachment 
• Family opportunities for prosocial involvement 
• Family rewards for prosocial involvement 
• School opportunities for prosocial involvement 
• School rewards for prosocial involvement 
• Interaction with prosocial peers 
• Peer/Individual Prosocial Involvement 
• Peer/Individual Belief in Moral Order 
• Peer/Individual Religiosity 

Why is it important? 

Substance use prevention is essential for creating healthier individuals and communities by addressing the root causes of misuse before they lead to harm. By focusing on limiting risk factors and strengthening protective factors, prevention efforts reduce the number of people affected by substance misuse throughout their lives. Taking an "upstream" approach—getting ahead of the problem—helps tackle challenges like mental health, trauma, and social isolation early on, fostering long-term resilience and well-being. 

In the long run, prevention reduces the need for costly interventions, saving money and creating a culture of wellness. Families become stronger, as individuals are better equipped to handle stress, communicate, and support one another. Communities that prioritize prevention see lower crime rates and improved overall health, leading to more vibrant, supportive environments. By investing in prevention, we build healthier individuals, better families, and stronger communities. 

Prevention in Lancaster County/PA: 

• Compass Mark 
• Joining Forces for Children 
• Lancaster County Drug and Alcohol  
• Commonwealth Prevention Alliance 
• PA DDAP 

 Prevention Resources/Talking to kids  

As mentioned above, one important aspect of prevention is community, parental, and peer attitudes toward substance use. Open communication is key to promoting healthy choices and stronger family bonds. Below we have included some resources that can help facilitate conversations with youth regarding substance use. 

• Request free talking to kids card game 
  • Start Talking! Is a card-based game designed to facilitate talking with your kids about things in their life that impact what matters to them. There are no right or wrong answers. The goal is conversation. With these discussions prompts, children can learn how to express themselves, understand and respect others opinions, and develop critical thinking abilities. It also helps them to build strong and health relationships with their peers, family, and friends 
• Resources for talking with kids 
• Stigma Reduction Work