Drug Prevention
Risk and Protective Factors for Youth Substance Use
The individual, family, school and community factors that raise or lower a young person's risk, and how prevention targets them.
No single cause explains why some young people develop problems with alcohol or drugs and others do not. Prevention science instead looks at risk factors, which raise the chances, and protective factors, which lower them. The more risk factors a young person has, and the fewer protective ones, the higher the likelihood of problems.
Common risk factors
- Individual: early aggressive behavior, impulsivity, untreated ADHD, anxiety or depression, early first use.
- Family: family history of addiction, parental substance use, conflict, lack of supervision.
- Peers and school: friends who use, academic failure, low commitment to school, bullying.
- Community: easy availability of alcohol and drugs, permissive norms, poverty, neighborhood disorganization.
Protective factors
- A warm relationship with at least one caring adult.
- Clear family rules and consistent monitoring.
- Success and belonging at school.
- Involvement in sports, arts, faith or community activities.
- Community norms and policies that discourage underage use.
Why this framework matters
Many risk factors for substance use are shared with other problems such as school dropout, delinquency and teen pregnancy. Community prevention systems such as Communities That Care survey local youth, identify which factors are most elevated, and choose tested programs to address them. Randomized trials of this approach have found lower rates of youth drinking, smoking and delinquency years later.
Genetics is not destiny
Family history raises risk, partly through genetics. It does not determine outcomes. Young people with a family history benefit from knowing it, the same way they would with a family history of heart disease, and from delaying or avoiding use.
This article is for general education and is not a substitute for advice from a qualified health professional.
