4 Troubled Teens Blog

Community-Based Program Reduces Rate of Adolescent Substance Abuse

Communities That Care, a program designed to reduce the rate of substance abuse among U.S. eighth-graders, has reported significant progress.

Among adolescents who participated in the program, alcohol use has been reduced by 25 percent, binge drinking has declined by 37 percent, and use of smokeless tobacco has decreased by 50 percent.
  • The university-designed program is in place in12 small and medium-sized towns in seven different states.
  • Each city was matched with a town of similar size, which did not employ the program, as a way to test the impact of the program.
  • Communities That Care started in 2004 and now involves more than 4,400 teens.
A study of the program appeared in the journal Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.

Labels: prevention, substance_abuse, community, adolescent

Posted By: Aspen/CRC