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Originating in the US, Communities that Care is a public health prevention framework that has been operating in Australia for 25 years.
Over 30 Local Government Areas have used the framework to reduce alcohol consumption, injuries and crime. In the US it has been used to also reduce smoking, cannabis and depression. An Australian cost benefit analysis has shown that using the CTC approach to adolescent alcohol consumption has a return of investment of $2.60.
This presentation outlines the Communities that Care model and how communities can use the model. It also presents findings from the National Australian Cluster Randomised Control Trial, and other national and international longitudinal evidence. (Watch Webinar Here)
Also see
- Why Prevention Matters and to Whom
- AOD Primary Prevention & Demand Reduction Priority Primer
- Asia-Pacific Prevention Hearing 2024 – The Declaration of Oviedo
- Prevention Basics! #Prevention #Childfirst What Adults Need to Know — One Choice Prevention
- Protective Factor Number One in Drug Use Prevention Science
- Prevention & Demand Reduction: Denying or Delaying Substance Use in Communities – An Evidence-Based Best Practice Guide'
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New research reveals that four specific personality traits can predict who will develop addiction problems – and more importantly, how targeted addiction prevention strategies can stop substance abuse before it begins. A groundbreaking Canadian programme demonstrates that personalised intervention works far better than traditional warning-based approaches.
The PreVenture Breakthrough
Canadian clinical psychologist Patricia Conrod has developed addiction prevention strategies that focus on personality rather than substances. Her PreVenture programme, implemented across Canadian classrooms, teaches students about their own psychological traits instead of simply warning about drug dangers.
“When you intervene around these traits and help people learn new cognitive behavioural strategies to manage these traits, you are able to reduce their substance use,” said Conrod, professor at the Université de Montréal.
This personalised approach to substance abuse prevention represents a fundamental shift from reactive to predictive intervention, targeting vulnerability before addiction develops.
Four Critical Risk Traits
PreVenture identifies four personality traits that predict addiction risk with remarkable specificity. These traits don’t just indicate general vulnerability – they reveal exactly which substances individuals gravitate towards, enabling precise addiction prevention strategies.
Anxiety sensitivity affects people who feel overwhelmed by physical symptoms like racing hearts or dizziness. This trait typically leads to alcohol, benzodiazepines, or opioid use as individuals seek to calm their bodies.
Sensation seeking characterises those craving excitement and novel experiences. These individuals often turn to cannabis, MDMA, psilocybin, or other hallucinogens. “Cannabis alters their perceptual experiences, and so makes things feel more novel,” Conrod explained. This trait also correlates with binge drinking and stimulant use.
Impulsivity involves difficulty controlling urges and delaying gratification. People with this trait struggle with response inhibition, making substance abuse prevention particularly crucial. “Young people with attentional problems and a core difficulty with response inhibition have a hard time putting a stop on a behaviour once they’ve initiated it,” noted Conrod.
Hopelessness reflects pessimistic, self-critical thinking patterns. Individuals with this trait expect rejection and assume hostility from others, often using alcohol or opioids to numb emotional pain. Conrod describes this as “negative attributional style” – believing the world is hostile and requiring protection.
Targeted Intervention Approaches
Unlike generic drug education programmes, effective addiction prevention strategies must address individual personality profiles. PreVenture uses brief personality assessments to identify dominant traits, then delivers specific cognitive-behavioural techniques.
Students learn how their traits influence automatic thinking patterns and develop healthier responses. Those with hopelessness learn to challenge depressive thoughts, whilst sensation seekers explore safer stimulation methods. Anxiety sensitivity receives calming techniques, and impulsivity training focuses on pausing before acting.
Crucially, successful substance abuse prevention acknowledges trait strengths alongside risks. “We try to present traits in a more positive way, not just a negative way,” said Sherry Stewart, clinical psychologist at Dalhousie University. “Your personality gets you into trouble – certainly, we discuss that – but also, what are the strengths of your personality?”
Genetic Foundations
Research increasingly reveals genetic underpinnings for addiction vulnerability, supporting personality-based addiction prevention strategies. Catherine Brownstein, Harvard Medical School professor and geneticist, explains that personality traits have substantial genetic components.
Her research identified 47 DNA locations affecting brain development and personality traits. Whilst genetic addiction prediction remains impossible, certain variants link to psychiatric disorders often co-occurring with substance abuse, including ADHD and schizophrenia.
Genetic variations also influence pain perception, with some variants increasing sensitivity whilst others eliminate it entirely. The SCN9A gene may make individuals more likely to seek opioid relief. “If you’re in pain all the time, you want it to stop, and opioids are effective,” Brownstein noted.
Future substance abuse prevention may combine genetic screening with psychological profiling for even more personalised interventions.
Proven Effectiveness
Evidence strongly supports personality-targeted addiction prevention strategies. A five-year study published in January showed students participating in PreVenture workshops were 23 to 80 per cent less likely to develop substance use disorders by Grade 11.
The programme has expanded across age groups. PreVenture targets middle and high school students, UniVenture addresses university students, and OpiVenture helps adults in opioid treatment. Implementation spans schools across the US and Canada, including British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador.
Current Challenges
Despite proven effectiveness, personality-based substance abuse prevention remains underutilised. Canada’s flagship youth prevention strategy still follows the 1990s Icelandic Prevention Model, focusing on environmental factors rather than individual psychology.
Whilst the Icelandic model showed success in Iceland, it lacks mental health components, doesn’t address opioid use specifically, and demonstrates mixed gender results. Traditional addiction prevention strategies often default to ineffective generic approaches like one-off guest speakers.
Conrod cites staffing shortages, school burnout, and insufficient mental health services as implementation barriers. However, momentum builds as British Columbia aligns prevention services with PreVenture principles, and organisations like Foundry BC and Youth Wellness Hubs Ontario expand programme reach.
The Personal Connection
The programme’s power lies in helping young people feel understood rather than lectured. Effective addiction prevention strategies create space for individuals to recognise their unique traits and understand they’re not alone.
“It’s really important that a young person is provided with the space and focus to recognise what’s unique about their particular trait,” Conrod emphasised. “Recognise that there are other people in the world that also think this way – you’re not going crazy.”
This understanding transforms substance abuse prevention from fear-based messaging to empowering self-awareness, offering young people tools to manage their psychological vulnerabilities before they become dependencies. (Source: WRD News)
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Welcome to the handbook that’s here to shake up the substance use narrative: 'Prevention & Demand Reduction: Denying or Delaying Substance Use in Communities – An Evidence-Based Best Practice Guide'. This is a call to action against the uninspired acceptance of drug use as a rite of passage.
In a society that often whispers ‘yes’ in the ears of our youth, it’s time we crank up the volume on the ‘no’. Not a finger-wagging, fun-spoiling ‘no’, but an empowering, choice-driven ‘no’ that opens the door to health and potential. This guide arms you with evidence-based practices that are as solid as they are effective. It’s about equipping communities with the facts and tools they need to makechoices that favour well-being over substance use. We’re here to dismantle the myth that drug experimentation is inevitable. With clear, evidence-backed strategies, we aim to assist all who care for best practice health and well-being to build their resilient communities that don't just survive but thrive without the ‘white-anting’ and even wrecking ball of substance use. So, let’s stop normalising what should never be ‘normal’ and start prioritising health, informed choices,and a future unfettered by dependency.
Join us as we push back against the tide of drug trivialisation, normalisation with sound evidence, wisdom, and a touch of common sense. Let’s make the protective, resilience empowering of ‘no’ the most powerful word in our community’s vocabulary.
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Recent evidence emphasises the crucial role of lived experience in prevention.
An example again comes from the Well Communities' approach, which utilises Behavioural Health Companions and Recovery Coaches with personal addiction experience. This peer-based model shows remarkable outcomes, with 73% of retained participants engaging in active volunteering and 39% securing stable employment. These results prove particularly significant given their success with highly vulnerable populations, including individuals with histories of offending, substance misuse, social exclusion, and dual diagnosis. This peer-based model has proven especially effective because:
- Peers can engage vulnerable populations more effectively than traditional healthcare providers
- Lived experience creates authentic relationships that support long-term recovery
- Recovery coaches serve as visible proof that change is possible
- The human assets tasked in an evidence-based education pedagogy this ‘knowledge placeholder’ can be an incredibly effective prevention education investor
- Peer support reduces stigma and increases program engagement
The evidence suggests that prevention through peer support and community engagement isn't just more humane - it's more effective and cost-efficient than traditional treatment-focused approaches.
This model, adapted slightly, can be tasked in a prevention education arena enabling these recovery alumni to add their lived experience and earned resilience to an evidence-based demand reduction education program of resilience building. (excerpt page 9)
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(The following research reveals again the need to embrace the indispensable arena of the Affective Domain of Education for best practice protective behaviours development. The imperatives of positive behaviour developing protocols has never been more crucial. Ethics, morals and/or other anthropologically sound behavioural guidelines are a key factor in framing decision making and managing stimuli in the developing human.
World famous Existential Psychologist Rollo May once stated that; “a person can overcome anxiety to the extent that their values are greater than the threat.” The formation of best practice health and well-being values has always been vital for an emerging citizens healthy understanding of self, along with their community responsibility and contribution development contribution.
So, ignoring these imperatives is not an option, and passive acquiescence to ‘cultural-market’ forces only diminish the brains capacity to understand and engage with ‘stimuli’ as it presents. The question remains for us all… Who or what is informing these ‘values’; are they best practice, and who says?
Dalgarno Institute)
Also see.
- The Resilient Brain & The Resilient Life
- AOD Primary Prevention & Demand Reduction Priority Primer: TASKING THE NATIONAL HEALTH STRATEGIES FOR COMMUNITY WELL-BEING
- Drug Policy – Building or Demolishing Community Resilience?
- Social Determinants & Substance Use – Beyond the Policy ‘Silo’ Pragmatics
Groundbreaking research has uncovered how changes in brain connectivity tied to cognitive control could serve as early indicators of adolescent substance use risk. The study highlights how understanding neural mechanisms can predict when teenagers might experiment with harmful substances, including alcohol, tobacco, and drugs.
Seven-Year Study Offers Key Findings: Led by Dr. Jungmeen Kim-Spoon from Virginia Tech, researchers conducted a seven-year study involving 91 adolescents aged 14 to 21, none of whom had used substances at the beginning. Using advanced brain scans and behavioural tests, the team identified neural patterns linked to adolescent substance use risk, predicting who might initiate substance use before it occurred.
Adolescents with stronger neural connectivity between the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex showed a tendency to delay substance use. However, those with weaker connectivity in these regions—and changes in connections across other brain areas—were at greater risk of starting substance use earlier and engaging more frequently.
Strengthening Cognitive Control as a Shield: The findings emphasise the critical role of cognitive control in shielding teens from the dangers of substance use. Cognitive control helps individuals regulate impulses and resist temptations. According to co-investigator Dr Ya-Yun Chen, subtle changes in brain connectivity—rather than behavioural traits like decision-making—acted as more reliable indicators of substance use risk.
Implications for Prevention Strategies: Dr Kim-Spoon stressed the importance of these discoveries in shaping effective intervention strategies. By focusing on strengthening cognitive control during early adolescence, parents, educators, and health professionals can work together to prevent young people from engaging in risky behaviours that often lead to addiction and other negative outcomes.
The Broader Context of Teen Substance Use Danger: Statistics reveal that more than two-thirds of individuals aged 12 to 17 in the United States experiment with substances annually. This study offers an urgent reminder that acting early is vital. Preventing substance use through education, while promoting robust neural development, could provide adolescents with the tools they need for healthy, substance-free lives.
The findings call for joint efforts from families, schools, and policymakers to help young people maintain their well-being and avoid the pitfalls of substance use. (Source: News-Medical.net)
- The Impact of Parental Substance Use On Children's Rights & Wellbeing
- Understanding Factors Influencing Adolescent Substance Use
- The Role of Parents in Preventing Adolescent Marijuana Use
- The Deep Impact of Youth Substance Use The Imperative and Urgent Need for Prevention: A Dive into Human Harms Beyond the ‘Stats’ (White Paper)