Office of National Drug Control Policy
The National Drug Control Strategy’s Performance Measures of Effectiveness
require the Office of National Drug Control Policy to “develop and implement
a set of research-based principles upon which prevention programming can be
based.” The following principles and guidelines were drawn from literature
reviews and guidance supported by the federal departments of Education,
Justice, and Health and Human Services as well as the White House Office of
National Drug Control Policy. Some prevention interventions covered by these
reviews have been tested in laboratory, clinical, and community settings using
the most rigorous research methods. Additional interventions have been studied
with techniques that meet other recognized standards. The principles and
guidelines presented here are broadly supported by a growing body of research.
Evidence-Based Principles
for Substance Abuse Prevention
ADDRESS APPROPRIATE RISK AND PROTECTIVE
FACTORS FOR SUBSTANCE ABUSE IN A
DEFINED POPULATION
1. Define a population A population can be
defined by age, sex, race, geography (neighbor-
hood, town, or region), and institution (school
or workplace).
2. Assess levels of risk, protection, and
substance abuse for that population
Risk factors increase the risk of substance
abuse, and protective factors inhibit sub-
stance abuse in the presence of risk. Risk and
protective factors can be grouped in domains
for research purposes (genetic, biological,
social, psychological, contextual, economic,
and cultural) and characterized as to their
relevance to individuals, the family, peer,
school, workplace, and community. Sub-
stance abuse can involve marijuana, cocaine,
heroin, inhalants, methamphetamine, alco-
hol, and tobacco (especially among youth) as
well as sequences, substitutions, and combi-
nations of those and other psycho-active
substances.
3. Focus on all levels of risk, with special
attention to those exposed to high risk and
low protection Prevention programs and
policies should focus on