Alcohol Abuse Prevention

Prevention, they say, is the best medicine, and this is as true for the abuse of alcohol as it is for dealing with infections and diseases. Prevent alcoholism from taking root in a person’s life in the first place and that individual will not incur or cause the resulting social costs of addiction. After many years of studying these problems, effective alcohol abuse prevention strategies have been developed. Through a combination of family and societal efforts, preventing alcoholism is not an impossible goal.

Family Strategies

In examining how to prevent alcoholism, addiction treatment experts have seen that the most effective ways to keep someone from becoming an alcoholic begin at home. Studies have shown that teenagers who have a strong relationship with their parents are less likely to begin drinking at a young age. Furthermore, since those who come from a home in which alcohol was abused are more likely to become alcoholics themselves, getting alcoholic family members into addiction recovery is particularly important. If you are a parent who struggles with alcohol and you have a child at home, you will dramatically reduce their chances of repeating your struggle if you get sober as soon as possible. Preventing alcohol abuse in your family’s future really does begin with you.

Societal Strategies

In addition to a focus on the home, there are many ways to prevent alcohol abuse that can be implemented by society as a whole. When looking at how to prevent alcohol abuse, researchers have found that school-based abuse prevention strategies developed by the larger community can often be quite successful. The top alcoholism prevention strategies implemented at the school level tend to focus on educating teens on the realities of alcohol abuse. Clearing up misunderstandings about alcohol use and focusing on the real problems that alcoholism causes can go a long way toward showing kids and teens just how damaging the abuse of alcohol can be. Effective alcohol abuse prevention strategies are customized to each age level, as developmentally appropriate programs employed at the right age have the most lasting positive effects.

Dealing With Abuse

Even those who know how to prevent alcoholism note that the most effective strategies do not work for everyone. Once a person becomes an alcoholic, professional addiction counseling and treatment is the only thing that can help. BetterAddictionCare’s recovery network includes many traditional and alternative rehab programs that can help you or a loved one recover from alcoholism. Call today or fill out our contact form to learn how we can assist you.

Sources

  1. World Health Organization. (2018). Global Strategy to Reduce the Harmful Use of Alcohol. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241565639
  2. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. (2021). Prevention Strategies. Retrieved from https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohol-health/special-populations-co-occurring-disorders/college-drinking/prevention
  3. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2015). Prevention of Substance Abuse and Mental Illness. Retrieved from https://www.samhsa.gov/prevention
  4. National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2018). Principles of Substance Abuse Prevention for Early Childhood: A Research-Based Guide. Retrieved from https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/principles-substance-abuse-prevention-early-childhood/introduction
  5. Foxcroft, D. R., & Tsertsvadze, A. (2011). Universal School-based Prevention Programs for Alcohol Misuse in Young People. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, (5), CD009113.
  6. Miller, P., Coomber, K., Staiger, P., Zinkiewicz, L., & Toumbourou, J. W. (2011). The Role of Social Supply in the Early Initiation of Alcohol Use: A Longitudinal Study. Drug and Alcohol Review, 30(6), 664-671.
  7. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. (2021). Underage Drinking. Retrieved from https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/brochures-and-fact-sheets/underage-drinking
  8. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. (2021). College Drinking Prevention. Retrieved from https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/brochures-and-fact-sheets/college-drinking
  9. Faggiano, F., Vigna-Taglianti, F., Burkhart, G., Bohrn, K., Cuomo, L., Gregori, D., & Panella, M. (2008). The Effectiveness of a School-Based Substance Abuse Prevention Program: 18-Month Follow-Up of the EU-Dap Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 94(1-3), 129-139.
  10. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. (2018). International Standards on Drug Use Prevention. Retrieved from https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/prevention/prevention-standards.html
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