This study outlined several state-of-the-art approaches that make use of computer, online, and mobile technologies to prevent and treat youth substance use.
This study outlined several state-of-the-art approaches that make use of computer, online, and mobile technologies to prevent and treat youth substance use.
l
Alcohol use is the leading risk factor for negative health outcomes among adolescents and young adults. Given how immersed they are in digital technologies, these platforms may provide innovative ways to protect young people from the consequences of substance use, or to help them once it has already become a problem.
Alcohol use is the leading risk factor for death and disability among youth ages 15-24 across the globe, and other drug use is the second leading risk factor for disability among youth ages 20-24 . The substantial negative effects of substance use on health outcomes is due to both the risks inherent in any type of use as well as the more prolonged pattern of consequences characterized in substance use disorders. It is important to identify effective strategies to address all different levels of risk related to substance use.
Technology-based resources – i.e., delivered in an electronic, mobile, or online format – may be critical tools toward both of these goals. Here we summarize a review by Marsch and Borodovsky of the most up-to-date evidence on technology-based resources to address young people’s substance use.
In this study, authors used their expertise in the field of technology-based resources for substance use among adolescents and young adults to review the current evidence.
The table below provides an extensive overview of the interventions reviewed.
They are organized according to the following categories consistent with the authors’ designations, which were based on guidelines from the Institute of Medicine :
This study outlined several empirically-supported interventions that use technology to improve youth substance use. These tools could serve many purposes including reducing clinician burden, as well as providing innovative ways to engage young people that might not otherwise be possible both in terms of their attractiveness and their accessibility.
An important observation is that these resources make use of well supported theories about how people change their drinking and other drug use, and adapt existing empirically-supported face-to-face approaches. In other words, their development and evaluation were guided by science.
As the study authors of the study noted, social media provides a relatively new set of innovative platforms to engage youth and develop and test substance related interventions, warranting further study. A study conducted with Australian college students that were drinking at “hazardous” levels (based on the alcohol use disorder identification test), for example, showed that personalized normative feedback delivered through Facebook enhanced drinking outcomes compared to a no-treatment control .
Marsch, L. A., & Borodovsky, J. T. (2016). Technology-based Interventions for Preventing and Treating Substance Use Among Youth. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 25(4), 755-768.
l
Alcohol use is the leading risk factor for negative health outcomes among adolescents and young adults. Given how immersed they are in digital technologies, these platforms may provide innovative ways to protect young people from the consequences of substance use, or to help them once it has already become a problem.
Alcohol use is the leading risk factor for death and disability among youth ages 15-24 across the globe, and other drug use is the second leading risk factor for disability among youth ages 20-24 . The substantial negative effects of substance use on health outcomes is due to both the risks inherent in any type of use as well as the more prolonged pattern of consequences characterized in substance use disorders. It is important to identify effective strategies to address all different levels of risk related to substance use.
Technology-based resources – i.e., delivered in an electronic, mobile, or online format – may be critical tools toward both of these goals. Here we summarize a review by Marsch and Borodovsky of the most up-to-date evidence on technology-based resources to address young people’s substance use.
In this study, authors used their expertise in the field of technology-based resources for substance use among adolescents and young adults to review the current evidence.
The table below provides an extensive overview of the interventions reviewed.
They are organized according to the following categories consistent with the authors’ designations, which were based on guidelines from the Institute of Medicine :
This study outlined several empirically-supported interventions that use technology to improve youth substance use. These tools could serve many purposes including reducing clinician burden, as well as providing innovative ways to engage young people that might not otherwise be possible both in terms of their attractiveness and their accessibility.
An important observation is that these resources make use of well supported theories about how people change their drinking and other drug use, and adapt existing empirically-supported face-to-face approaches. In other words, their development and evaluation were guided by science.
As the study authors of the study noted, social media provides a relatively new set of innovative platforms to engage youth and develop and test substance related interventions, warranting further study. A study conducted with Australian college students that were drinking at “hazardous” levels (based on the alcohol use disorder identification test), for example, showed that personalized normative feedback delivered through Facebook enhanced drinking outcomes compared to a no-treatment control .
Marsch, L. A., & Borodovsky, J. T. (2016). Technology-based Interventions for Preventing and Treating Substance Use Among Youth. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 25(4), 755-768.
l
Alcohol use is the leading risk factor for negative health outcomes among adolescents and young adults. Given how immersed they are in digital technologies, these platforms may provide innovative ways to protect young people from the consequences of substance use, or to help them once it has already become a problem.
Alcohol use is the leading risk factor for death and disability among youth ages 15-24 across the globe, and other drug use is the second leading risk factor for disability among youth ages 20-24 . The substantial negative effects of substance use on health outcomes is due to both the risks inherent in any type of use as well as the more prolonged pattern of consequences characterized in substance use disorders. It is important to identify effective strategies to address all different levels of risk related to substance use.
Technology-based resources – i.e., delivered in an electronic, mobile, or online format – may be critical tools toward both of these goals. Here we summarize a review by Marsch and Borodovsky of the most up-to-date evidence on technology-based resources to address young people’s substance use.
In this study, authors used their expertise in the field of technology-based resources for substance use among adolescents and young adults to review the current evidence.
The table below provides an extensive overview of the interventions reviewed.
They are organized according to the following categories consistent with the authors’ designations, which were based on guidelines from the Institute of Medicine :
This study outlined several empirically-supported interventions that use technology to improve youth substance use. These tools could serve many purposes including reducing clinician burden, as well as providing innovative ways to engage young people that might not otherwise be possible both in terms of their attractiveness and their accessibility.
An important observation is that these resources make use of well supported theories about how people change their drinking and other drug use, and adapt existing empirically-supported face-to-face approaches. In other words, their development and evaluation were guided by science.
As the study authors of the study noted, social media provides a relatively new set of innovative platforms to engage youth and develop and test substance related interventions, warranting further study. A study conducted with Australian college students that were drinking at “hazardous” levels (based on the alcohol use disorder identification test), for example, showed that personalized normative feedback delivered through Facebook enhanced drinking outcomes compared to a no-treatment control .
Marsch, L. A., & Borodovsky, J. T. (2016). Technology-based Interventions for Preventing and Treating Substance Use Among Youth. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 25(4), 755-768.
SIGN UP FOR THE BULLETIN
