Prevention Program for Population & Addiction

PREVENTION
PROGRAM Caitlin Riegel PSY-
200

POPULATION &
ADDICTION
• “Addiction is often an adolescent onset illness –
9 out of 10 adults with a substance use disorder
began using before the age of 18” (Facing
Addiction with NCADD, n.d.).
• 40 million Americans ages 12 and older—or
more than 1 in 7 people—abuse or are addicted
to nicotine, alcohol or other drugs. This is more
than the number of Americans with heart
conditions (27 million), diabetes (26 million) or
cancer (19 million). (NCADD, 2015)
• Because of statistics like these, it is absolutely
necessary to find and implement a prevention
plan in order to combat long term health issues
and addiction.
• With the amount of addicts/alcoholics who claim
to have used substances before the age of 18, it
seems the most logical route of prevention
starts with teens.

DRUG
ADDICTION &
IT’S HISTORY
Some risk factors associated with drug
addiction include:
• Genetic predisposition, certain brain
characteristics that create vulnerability to
addiction, psychological factors (stress,
depression, anxiety, eating disorders,
etc.), environmental influences (exposure
to abuse or trauma, history of addiction in
family or peers, etc.), and starting alcohol,
nicotine, or other substances at an early
age (Center on Addiction, 2017).
• Having one or more of these addiction risk
factors does not necessarily mean
someone will become addicted, but it does
mean the odds are greater. The more risk
factors present, the greater the chance
that an individual will develop the disease.