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Saturday, November 03, 2007

Peer-Led Drug Counseling Most Effective for Teens

Teens do better in anti-drug counseling programs led by other teenagers than those led by adults, according to a new study from the University Of Southern California Keck School Of Medicine.

Researchers asked 550 high school students to take part in surveys before and after they completed drug counseling for tobacco, alcohol, marijuana or cocaine use. Those who took part in peer-led programs reduced their abuse by 15% compared to those in traditional programs.

Professor Thomas Valente said, "We found that social-network-tailored prevention curricula can be very successful in achieving long-term behavioral changes in teenagers."

Labels: influences, peers, counseling

Posted By: Aspen Education Group

Comments:

Chantal P. on 11/7/2007
I truly believe that teens or more open to other teens because they feel that they have more in common. When talking to adults, there is a constant sense of the authoritative roles that they play. On top of fear of being judged..."parents just don't understand"

there are some really great places that teens can go online with other teens and talk about their substance abuse issues. I'm part of an online community at www.dailystrength.org that really helps me get my issues out in the open.

To be able to share one's story and not be judged is really crucial in recovery.

If you want to check it out, you can go to...

http://dailystrength.org/support/Addiction_Recovery/Meth_Addiction/

Thanks so much! and keep posting!