Ways to Prevent and Ameliorate the Impact of Addiction
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The path to addiction to alcohol, tobacco and other drugs is complex. It involves genetic factors, neuropsychology, and family systems, as well as micro, mezzo and macro policy environments. In other words the causes of addiction are very complex. Likewise the prevention of addiction is complex and multifaceted. We have seen tobacco use in much of the world cut in half in the last decade or so via a combination of public policy severely restricting where individuals can smoke and effective health education on the life threatening consequences of smoking tobacco. While some aspects of prevention are beyond individual efforts, there are many things that families, church members, teachers and community members can engage in that have scientifically been shown to prevent substance abuse.
Scientific research has identified some key prevention strategies we call can utilize in our daily lives. Among those findings is the protective impact of positive human relationships. I live in a rural area of Michigan. About this time of year I see many very young animals from deer to squirrels and turkeys running around the area pretty shortly after their birth. In contrast, human beings are dependent on others for all aspects of their existence for many years. Research suggests that we really benefit all of our lives from positive human relationships. Research suggests that our immune systems function better and we recover from many diseases faster if we have strong positive support. It has been suggested that it might be better to eat a candy bar with friends than broccoli alone.
In terms of the prevention of alcohol and drug abuse, positive human relationships have been shown to be consistently protective. First, parents should be noted. Data consistently show that a positive relationship between children and their parents relates to lower levels of alcohol and other drug use. One of the best indicators of lower levels of substance use (as well as a lot of other lower health risk and more positive pro-social behavior) is frequency of family dinners. Youth who have four or more family dinners per week are significantly less likely to engage in substance use as well as be sexually promiscuous. What is going on at family dinners? Research suggests that parents role model best behavior, there is monitoring of youth behaviors, sharing of family standards/expectations and emotional bonding. It is important to note that if there is dysfunction in the family including fighting and yelling, it relates to higher substance abuse rates.
Other responsible adults also play a major role in prevention. A wide variety of research studies show that mentoring relationships between youth and other adults such as teachers, pastors and church/community youth leaders relates to significantly lower rates of substance abuse. If there are other adults that youth can turn to deal with the tough issues of life, it lowers their odds of substance abuse. At beginning of the year faculty meetings at Andrews University, I always remind faculty and staff that one of the best, empirically proven things we can do to prevent drug abuse is to just listen to, process and try to solve the issues that students come to us about. Another functional adults in a youth’s life can help ameliorate the problems of dysfunctional families.
Another relationship that prevents involves service to others; helping others in the challenges they face in life. Researchers have consistently found that youth who engage in service to others are significantly less likely to use alcohol and other drugs as well as less sexual activity and higher grades. Service can involve a wide variety of things from shoveling snow off of sidewalks and providing fire wood to tutoring in school. Youth who help others begin to think from cause to effect, be able to plan better, become less self-centered and more altruistic. Service also allows students to be positive actors and make a visible difference in the lives of others. This success appears to encourage them to act more responsibly in a wide variety of life areas from drugs to sex and long term planning.
Perhaps the most important positive protective relationship involves our relationship with God. One of the most consistent research findings is that those who believe in God, are involved in their faith community and have an active devotional life are much less likely to abuse alcohol and drugs. Recent data also suggest that for Adventists, acceptance of a core aspect of our Health Message, viewing our bodies as the Temple of God is highly protective. The importance of religion/faith has been found to be effective across all Christian denominations. Our relationship with God is crucial to prevention. Whatever parents, teachers and church member can do to foster our youth’s relationship to God can be a strong act of prevention.
One of the key concepts we use in prevention is resilience. Resilience involves the capacity to overcome difficult circumstances in life; it involves the good kid in the bad neighborhood. And with the availability of the Internet, all of our youth live in bad neighborhoods. We are a click way from explicit pornography, instructions on how to make methamphetamine and how to grow the most potent form of marijuana. Resilience occurs when youth have the positive supportive relationships that have been noted.
It is also crucial to note that even with the best positive supportive relationships, substance abuse can occur. Sin emerged in the perfect supportive environment. However, a past of these positive relationships also relates to recovery from addictions. We never give up on our youth as God never gives up on us. A positive supportive relationship you have with a youth may not appear to have an effect now, but there is a good chance it will in the future. For each of the relationships noted we can be a part of. We can all be active in substance abuse prevention and in future recovery if abuse emerges.
Duane McBride, PhD
Chair of Andrews University’s Behavioral Sciences Department and
Director of the Institute for the Prevention of Addictions