Delivering substance use prevention interventions for adolescents in educational settings: A scoping review

Abstract

Currently, a proportion of adolescents use alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drugs, which inevitably harms their health and academic progress. Adolescence is a peak period for substance use initiation and a critical time for preventing substance use problems. Various entities, such as families, schools, and communities, have implemented a variety of interventions to alleviate adolescent substance use problems, and schools play a unique role. To explore the types, characteristics, and effectiveness of substance use interventions in educational settings for adole-scents, we conducted a scoping review and identified 32 studies after screening. We divided the 32 studies according to intervention type, including curriculum interventions focusing on cognitive-behavioral skill enhancement, exercise interventions, peer interventions and family-school cooperation, and electronic interventions. Except for the mixed results on electronic interventions, the results showed that the other interventions were beneficial to different extents in alleviating adolescent substance use problems. In addition, we analyzed and summarized the advantages and challenges of intervening in adolescent substance use in educational settings. Schools can use equipment and human resources to provide adolescents with various types of intervention measures, but they also face challenges such as stigmatization, ineffective coordination among multiple resources, and poor implementation effects. In the future, school-based intervention measures can fully utilize big data and artificial intelligence technology and collaborate with families and communities to intervene appro-priately while paying attention to the comorbidity risks of substance use disorders and psychological health issues.

Keywords: Substance use; Prevention; Adolescents; Educational settings; Artificial intelligence; Digital interventions

Core Tip: Interventions in educational settings include curriculum interventions, physical activity interventions, peer interventions and family-school cooperation, and electronic interventions. Except for the mixed effectiveness of electronic interventions, all other intervention measures are beneficial in alleviating substance use problems among adolescents. Schools can utilize equipment and human resources to provide various types of interventions but also face challenges such as stigmatization and ineffective coordination between multiple resources. In the future, schools can fully utilize big data and artificial intelligence technologies, jointly intervene with families and communities, and appropriately address the comorbidity risks of substance use disorders and mental health issues.