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CPSTF Economic Finding for Family-based Interventions to Prevent Substance Use Among Youth

The Community Preventive Services Task Force (CPSTF) finds that economic benefits exceed the cost of family-based interventions to prevent substance use among youth. CPSTF recommends family-based interventions to prevent substance use among youth. Interventions reduced initiation and use of various substances (see table). They also reduced sexual risk behaviors among youth and led to improvements in mental health symptoms and school-related outcomes.

How can family-based interventions prevent substance use? These interventions teach parents and caregivers to enhance their children’s substance use preventive skills and practices. Content may address parent-child communication, rule setting, and monitoring, and interventions may include additional substance use prevention activities for youth. Interventions include individual or small group sessions, web-based modules, printed instruction manuals and workbooks, or a combination of these. They may be delivered by health professionals or trained providers in home, school, or community-based settings.

Why is this important? Youth substance use is associated with increased risk for delinquency; academic underachievement; teen pregnancy; sexually transmitted infections; perpetration of, or experience with, violence; injuries; and mental health problems. Preventing or delaying substance use initiation among youth reduces later risk for substance use, substance use disorders, and overdose. In 2021, substance use was common among U.S. high school students and varied by substance. Approximately one third of students (30%) reported current use of alcohol or marijuana or prescription opioid misuse. In 2022, more than 3 million middle and high school students reported using a commercial tobacco product, and 11% of 8th graders reported lifetime use of marijuana.

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X (formerly Twitter®) New! Economic review from @CPSTF shows the economic benefits of family-based interventions to prevent substance use among youth exceed intervention cost. These programs reduce substance use, reduce sexual risk behaviors, and improve mental health symptoms and school-related outcomes among youth. https://www.thecommunityguide.org/findings/substance-use-family-based-interventions-to-prevent-substance-use-among-youth.html LinkedIn Do you work with young people? An economic review from the Community Preventive Services Task Force shows the economic benefits of family-based interventions to prevent substance use among youth outweigh intervention costs. These interventions prevent substance use, reduce sexual risk behaviors, and improve mental health symptoms and school-related outcomes among youth. https://www.thecommunityguide.org/findings/substance-use-family-based-interventions-to-prevent-substance-use-among-youth.html Concerned about adolescent substance use? The Community Preventive Services Task Force recommends family-based interventions to prevent substance use among youth. Plus, the economic benefits outweigh the cost of implementing this intervention. Evidence shows interventions reduce initiation and use of cannabis, alcohol, tobacco, illicit substances, and misuse of prescription drugs among youth. They also reduce sexual risk behaviors and improve mental health symptoms and school-related outcomes. https://www.thecommunityguide.org/findings/substance-use-family-based-interventions-to-prevent-substance-use-among-youth.html

We encourage you to share these materials with your colleagues and constituents. Please let us know how you are using Community Guide resources and recommendations. E-mail us at communityguide@cdc.gov, connect with @CPSTF on X, and follow CDC on LinkedIn. As always, we appreciate your interest and support, The Community Guide

The Guide to Community Preventive Services (The Community Guide) is a website that is a collection of all the evidence-based findings and recommendations of the Community Preventive Services Task Force.

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