Prevention of addictive behaviours

Metaúdaje publikácie

The aim of this expert report is to assess the effectiveness of existing interventions to prevent addiction by means of high-quality studies (reviews and meta-analyses). For the purposes of this expert report, effectiveness is defined as preventing, delaying or reducing consumption of tobacco, alcohol, cannabis or other illicit psychoactive substances through universal or selective approaches. Furthermore, the effectiveness of approaches to the prevention of problematic gambling behaviour is also assessed. Because of the low number of intervention studies that have been conducted thus far, the... current status of prevention of prescription drug abuse and Internet addiction is explored, but no conclusions are drawn. Both behavioural and environmental prevention interventions are assessed. An attempt is made to draw conclusions about the effectiveness of established measures in various settings, as well as conclusions regarding specific substances and gambling. All conclusions are allocated strength-of-evidence ratings. In addition to this main task, theoretical principles are presented that are currently under discussion in various areas of addiction prevention. Moreover, the literature on specific target groups (migrants, the elderly) and prevention efforts in Germany are explored. This expert report is aimed at decision-makers in addiction prevention at all political levels, as well as those in charge of developing and/or implementing preventive measures.