– Evidence-based prevention is cost-effective. One dollar invested today will yield 10 dollars in the future. This is a conservative estimate, but one that is easy to remember, Campello says.
”One dollar invested [in prevention] today will yield 10 dollars in the future.”
Evidence-based prevention initiatives vary in methodology, but they have certain characteristics in common. “The earlier the better” is usually a good standard. Some initiatives are directed towards parents even before the child is born. Successful school initiatives usually help to strengthen the child’s emotional intelligence and intervene in early-onset mental problems.
– All of this should be done non-judgementally and on a voluntary basis. There is a lot we can do without waiting for the adolescent to start using substances. If you use evidence-based programmes, interventions, and policies, you are preventing drug use and other risky behaviours.
Also, Campello stresses that it is never too late. There are effective strategies to be implemented also when the recipient is older and problematic substance use may already have started.
Effective programmes focus on practising social skills and learning to cope with negative emotions. They also aim to change perceptions of risks associated with substance use, dispel misconceptions about the normative nature of substance abuse, and emphasise appropriate consequences.
What does not work are strategies which include non-interactive methods as the primary delivery strategy, such as only information-giving. Other examples of poor practices include fear arousal, single or unstructured sessions, focusing only on building self-esteem, addressing only ethical or moral decision-making or values, and using people in recovery as testimonials.