Primary Care Behavioral Interventions to Prevent or Reduce Illicit Drug Use and Nonmedical Pharmaceutical Use in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Evidence Review for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Drug use among youths is associated with negative health and social consequences. Even infrequent use increases the risk for serious adverse events by increasing risk-taking behaviors in intoxicated or impaired persons. PURPOSE: To systematically review the benefits and harms of primary care-relevant interventions designed to prevent or reduce illicit drug use or the nonmedical use of prescription drugs among youths. DATA SOURCES: PubMed, PsycINFO, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials through 4 June 2013; MEDLINE through 31 August 2013; and manual searches of reference lists and gray literature. STUDY SELECTION: Two investigators independently reviewed 2253 abstracts and 144 full-text articles. English-language trials of primary care-relevant behavioral interventions that reported drug use, health outcomes, or harms were included. DATA EXTRACTION: One investigator abstracted data from good- and fair-quality trials into prespecified evidence tables, and a second investigator checked these data. DATA SYNTHESIS: Six trials were included, 4 of which examined the effect of the intervention on a health or social outcome. One trial found no effect of the intervention on marijuana-related consequences or driving under the influence of marijuana; 3 trials generally found no reduction in depressed mood at 12 or 24 months. Four of the 5 trials assessing self-reported marijuana use found statistically significant differences favoring the intervention group participants (such as a between-group difference of 0.10 to 0.17 use occasions in the past month). Three trials also reported positive outcomes in nonmedical prescription drug use occasions. LIMITATIONS: The body of evidence was small, and there were heterogeneous measures of outcomes of limited clinical applicability. Trials primarily included adolescents with little or no substance use. CONCLUSION: Evidence is inadequate on the benefits of primary care-relevant behavioral interventions in reducing self-reported illicit and pharmaceutical drug use among adolescents. PRIMARY FUNDING SOURCE: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
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School-based behavioral interventions are effective universal prevention interventions to minimize risk of bullying and peer rejection as well as substance abuse.
“school-based behavioral interventions to minimize risk of bullying and peer rejection [62, 63] as well as substance abuse [64, 65]”
From Prevention and early intervention in youth mental health: is it time for a multidisciplinary and trans-diagnostic model for care? (2020) · cites this paper as [64]
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- Authors
- Patnode, C. D., O’Connor, E., Rowland, M., Burda, B. U., Perdue, L. A., & Whitlock, E. P.
- Affiliations
- Kaiser Permanente (US)
- Venue
- Annals of Internal Medicine
- Publisher
- American College of Physicians
- Published
- 2014-05-06
- Volume
- 160
- Issue
- 9
- Pages
- 612-620
- ISSN
- 0003-4819 (ISSN-L)
- 1539-3704
- OpenAlex
- W1979234622
- Cited by
- 30
- References
- 20
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 1 · 2022: 3 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 1 · 2016: 9 · 2015: 3
- FWCI
- 3.27
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Annals of Internal Medicine (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Opioid Use Disorder Treatment
- Social Sciences › Demography › Youth, Drugs, and Violence
- Keywords
- nonmedical prescription drug use, adolescents, children, cannabis use, depression, substance use prevention
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adolescent Behavior, Behavior Therapy, Marijuana Abuse, Child, Depression, Humans, Primary Health Care, Risk-Taking, Illicit Drugs, United States, Substance-Related Disorders, Prescription Drugs
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