What Works for Preventing and Stopping Substance Use in Adolescents: Lessons from Experimental Evaluations of Programs and Interventions. Fact Sheet. Publication #2008-19.

Substance use among teens is related to poorer outcomes for adolescents and youth (e.g., unintentional injuries, homicides and suicides, depression, conduct disorder, and unplanned sexual activity); therefore, it is important to understand both what works and what doesn’t work to prevent and stop substance use. Many evaluated programs include multiple components. Consequently, one can usually determine only whether or not programs work; rarely can we isolate the exact component of a complex intervention that is responsible for producing the effects.