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Substance Abuse Prevention
Importantly, prevention strategies help the children of Travis County
to resist the use of substances (see Appendix
D). Children and adolescents are especially vulnerable to substance
use and dependence.
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Research indicates that when children
reach adulthood without using illegal substances, they are more
likely to never develop a chemical dependency problem.
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Their physical and psychological states of development cause them to be
highly susceptible to the ill affects of drug use, including alcohol and
tobacco, both at the moment of use, and for years to come. Moreover, the
behavior patterns that result from preteen and teen drug use often result
in tragic consequences. The self-degradation, loss of control, and disruptive,
antisocial attitudes that young people develop as a result of drug use can
cause untold harm to themselves and their families.
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Risk Factors
Reuters Health (2000) reports that children and adolescents with drug or
alcohol abusing parents are much more likely to develop similar habits. It
is believed that for children and adolescents, biological factors and environmental
factors are combined risks. Community, peer, school, individual and family
risk factors (Table 8-3) related to substance abuse are important to identify
in order to prevent use.
Risk factors for criminal behavior also relate to the risk that a child
will engage in other negative behaviors, such as abusing alcohol or other
substances, becoming a teen parent, dropping out of school, etc. Youth who
are at greatest risk of engaging in negative behavior are often affected
by multiple risk factors. As Figure 8-2 shows, the likelihood that a child
will abuse substances and engage in criminal behaviors increases with the
number of risk factors.
Thus, in prevention activities, multiple risk factors need to be addressed
or negative behavior may not be sufficiently reduced. Reducing the risk factor
of substance use and dependence would significantly decrease the prevalence
of criminal behavior in Travis County, decrease the economic impact, improve
the quality of life among citizens, reduce the human suffering and diminish
the impact on long-term health.
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Protective Factors that Prevent Drug Use
In addition to understanding risk factors, it is imperative to recognize
protective factors. Protective factors that prevent drug use can be divided
into four categories: community, individual/peer, school, and family (Table
8-4). Specific strategies within each of these categories can be utilized
to protect or prevent young people from using drugs (NIDA, 1997).
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Age of Onset
The Austin Independent School District (AISD, 1999) surveyed secondary school
students as part of the Texas School Survey of Substance Abuse Among Students
to determine the age at which they had first used substances. In Texas, the
Texas School Survey has been utilized since 1988 to provide information about
the substance use problem among young people enrolled in Texas' public schools.
This survey is a biennial collaborative initiative between the Texas Commission
on Alcohol and Drug Abuse (TCADA) and the Public Policy Research Institute
(PPRI) at Texas A&M University. TCADA's website reports that not all of the
school districts in Travis County have participated in this survey. However,
AISD participated and represents the majority of the county. The indicators
used in this section will utilize AISD data. Students reported they first
tried alcohol and/or tobacco by an average age of 12.3 years or younger.
Students reported using marijuana by an average age of 13.5 years.
Students in Austin and Texas are experimenting with substances at
an early age. Research indicates that children who reach adulthood
without using illegal substances are most likely to never develop a
chemical dependency problem. Considering the early age at which many
students begin experimenting with substances, prevention efforts must
start early, and definitely before age 12.
As cited in Table 8-5, the Texas School Survey of Substance Use Among
Students (Kerber, L., and Wallisch, L.S., 1997) reports secondary students
average age of first use of licit and illicit drugs occurred between
12.2 and 14.5 years (similar to local data, Table 8-6). The first licit
substances used at the earliest age were inhalants, tobacco and alcohol
(although these substances were licit for adults, they are illicit
for youth). The first illicit drug (marijuana) was used at the average
age of 13.5 years.
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Prevention activities can increase the quality of life and reduce the
overall impact of substance abuse on the community. Currently, Travis County
lacks community-wide coordination of prevention services; a community plan
that identifies need and capacity; and specific outcomes that measure the
effectiveness of prevention activities. It is recommended that a local
plan be developed to address coordination of prevention activities in conjunction
with tracking of uniform outcome measures.
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