SUBSTANCE ABUSE: GET INVOLVED

Overcoming misconceptions and replacing ideology with scientific knowledge is the best hope for bridging the "great disconnect" - the gap between the public perception of drug abuse and addiction and the scientific facts.

Becoming involved with your family and friends is the most important thing that you can do to help protect against usage. More often than not the person addicted has not been subjected to positive reinforcement. Below is a brief outline of risk and protective factors. For further information please call us at 859-431-1077.

A tremendous opportunity exists to effectively change the ways in which the public understands drug abuse and addiction.

Among the most important developments in substance abuse prevention theory and programming in recent years has been a focus on risk/protective factors as a unifying descriptive and predictive framework. Put simply, one often tested and supported hypothesis deriving from this framework is that the more risk factors a child or youth experiences, the more likely s/he will experience substance abuse and related problems in adolescence or young adulthood. Researchers have also found that the more the risks in a child's life can be reduced, the less vulnerability that child will have to subsequent health and social problems.

However, research has also demonstrated that exposure to even a significant number of risk factors in a child's life does not necessarily mean that substance use or other problem behaviors will follow inevitably. Many children and youth growing up in presumably high-risk families and environments emerge relatively free of problems. The reason for this, according to many researchers, is the presence of protective factors in these young people's lives. Protective factors balance and buffer risk factors. Taken together, these data enhance our understanding of how and why youth initiate substance use as well as provide some direction for preventing, decreasing, or eliminating use.

Risk and protective factors exist at every level at which an individual interacts with others and the society around him or her. The individual brings a set of qualities or characteristics to each interaction, and these factors act as a filter, coloring the nature and tone of these interactions-positive or negative. One way to organize these factors is by life domain. Specifically, six life domains in which interactions occur have been identified, as listed below. Within each domain, sub domains of risk and protective factors have been identified through decades of research; these are listed in the parentheses below.

• Individual (biological and psychological dispositions, attitudes, values, knowledge, skills, problem behaviors)
• Peer (norms, activities)
• Family (function, management, bonding)
• School (bonding, climate, policy, performance)
• Community/Society (bonding, norms, resources, awareness/mobilization, policy/sanctions)
  

RISK FACTORS (Individual)

• Thinks most friends use
• Association with drug-using peers
• Certain physical, emotional or personality traits
  • Inherited genetic vulnerability
  • Low self esteem
  • Psychological disturbances
  • Inappropriate coping responses
  • Violence/ aggression
  • Risk taking propensity/impulsivity
  • Alienation and rebelliousness
  • Rejection of pro-social values/religion
  • Lack of peer refusal skills
• Early and persistent problem behaviors
  • Early sexual activity/teen pregnancy
  • Begins using at a young age
  • Early anti-social behaviors
  • Peer rejection in elementary grades
• Academic Failure
• Less involved in recreational, social and cultural activities
• Lack of information on positive health behaviors
  • Lack of information on drug-related topics

PROTECTIVE FACTORS (Individual)

• Knowledge regarding risks associated with substance abuse/use
• Negative attitudes toward substances and substance use
• Bonding to pro-social culture
• Positive relationships with adults
  • Views parents, teachers, doctors, law enforcement officers and other adults as allies
• Social competence
• Youth involvement in alternative activities
• Sense of well-being/self confidence
• Has positive future plans

RISK FACTORS (Peer)

• Reinforcement of negative norms and expectations within peer group
• Thinks alcohol and drug use is "cool"
• Inappropriate sexual activity among peers
• Ties to deviant peers/gang involvement

PROTECTIVE FACTORS (Peer)

• Involved in substance-free activities
• Friends disapprove of alcohol and other drug use

RISK FACTORS (Family)

• Family members with a history of alcohol or other drug abuse
• Family members don't spend much time together
• Parents have trouble keeping track of teens, who they're with and where they go
• Lack of clear rules and consequences regarding alcohol and other drug use
• Parents use drugs, involve youth in their use ("Get me a beer, would you?") or tolerate use by youth
• Parents have trouble setting consistent expectations and limits
• Family conflict/abuse
• Loss of employment

PROTECTIVE FACTORS (Family)

• Close family relationships
• Consistency of parenting
• Education is valued and encouraged, and parents are actively involved
• Copes with stress in a positive way
• Clear expectations and limits regarding alcohol and other drug use
• Encourages supportive relationships with caring adults beyond the immediate family
• Share family responsibilities, including chores and decision making
• Family members are nurturing and support each other

RISK FACTORS (School)

• Lack of clear expectations, both academic and behavioral
• Students lack commitment or sense of belonging at school
• High numbers of students who fail academically at school
• Parents and community members not actively involved

PROTECTIVE FACTORS (School)

• Positive attitudes toward school
  • School bonding
  • Regular school attendance
• Communicates high academic and behavioral expectations
• Encourages goal-setting, academic achievement and positive social development
  • Tutoring available
  • Positive instructional climate
  • Provides leadership and decision making opportunities for students
• Fosters active involvement of students, parents and community members
• Sponsors substance-free events
• School responsive to students' needs

RISK FACTORS (Community/Society)

• Alcohol and other drugs readily available
  • Irresponsible servers and sellers
  • Affordability
• Laws and ordinances are unclear or inconsistently enforced
• Norms are unclear or encourage use
• Residents feel little sense of "connection" to community
• Neighborhood disorganization
• Rapid changes in neighborhood populations
• High unemployment
• Residents at or below the poverty level
• Extreme economic deprivation
• Lack of strong social institutions
• Lack of monitoring youths' activities
• Inadequate media portrayals
  • Misleading advertising
• Pro-use messages

PROTECTIVE FACTORS (Community/Society)

• Opportunities exist for community involvement
• Community religious composition
• Laws and ordinances are consistently enforced
• Informal social control
• Policies and norms encourage non-use
• Community service opportunities available for youth
• Resources (housing, healthcare, childcare, jobs, recreation, etc.) are available
• Comprehensive risk focused programs available
  • Programs for parents of children and adolescents
  • Early childhood and family support programs
  • Widely supported community prevention efforts exist

For additional information on how you can become more involved in your community please call us at 859-431-1077. We will provide you with current groups in the Northern KY area that are advocating and educating for a drug free community.