Substance Abuse Prevention Software

Substance Abuse Prevention

Ripple Effects for Teens includes 80+ substance abuse prevention topics.

As with issues around violence, different communities and different individuals within communities have different issues around drugs, and thus need a wide range of options to choose from in dealing with their specific drug and alcohol problems. Both prevention and cessation are important strategies.

Where designer drugs are a problem, resisting peer pressure is an important intervention technique; kids using depressants are more likely to need help managing their feelings; kids involved in selling drugs need help in predicting consequences; regular marijuana users need to learn how to relax without drugs; heroin users need to access community resources to deal with their addiction.

Ripple Effects social learning software is comprehensive. You decide what does and doesn't fit for you. This way all students and communities can be assured they are getting best practices in prevention regardless of what their particular emphasis is.

What works with drug and alcohol abuse prevention:

Broad skill training in assertiveness so students are able to resist peer pressure
Training in managing feelings so they are not as tempted to use alcohol or drugs to manage emotional discomfort
Training in decision making skills so they both realistically predict consequences and can develop viable options (other than being social rejects!)
Training in norm setting, so students recognize drug and alcohol use as something that is wrong.
Finally, new research has shown that the most important factor of all may be bonding students to their schools and families, so that they have a net of support that reduces the chances they'll turn to drugs and alcohol.

Relate offers no fewer than eight modes of learning for each of these topics.

Substance Abuse Topics

Alcohol
Alcoholic
Alcoholic parent
Driving drunk
Drugs (by street and technical names) for these categories: antidepressants, date rape drugs, depressants, designer drugs, hallucinogens, inhalants, marijuana, opiates, ritalin, stimulants
Selling drugs
Quitting drugs
Recklessness
Smoking, chew
Nervous habits
Nail biting

Skill Training Topics

Assertiveness and resisting pressure
Managing feelings, especially anxiety and fear
Decision making, especially predicting consequences
Standing up for beliefs and values
Getting help
Quitting habits
Relaxing
Persevering
Belonging skills (group skills, communication skills, social values)
Being mindful
Building self-esteem without self centeredness

More?

• See all the topics in Ripple Effects for Teens listed A-Z.
• See pictures.
• Try a one-topic online demo (high-bandwidth: need a DSL or faster Internet connection).
• Try Resist, a web-based tool drawn from Ripple Effects for Teens and adapted for the web (low bandwidth).