PAC 102 Module 2 Risk and Protective Factors Example

Belonging as Prevention: Risk and Protective Factors for Substance Use in a Suburban District's High Schools

Student Name

Psychology and Addiction Studies Program, Aspen University

PAC 102: Substance Abuse in Educational Settings

Instructor Name

Month Day, Year

Belonging as Prevention: Risk and Protective Factors for Substance Use in a Suburban District's High Schools

Module 1 showed that substance use in Lakeshore Unified School District rises most steeply between eighth and tenth grade. The next question is why some students use and others do not, and which of the reasons a school can do something about. This paper applies the risk and protective factor framework to Lakeshore's high schools. As in Module 1, Lakeshore and its numbers are fictional and the studies are real.

The Framework

Hawkins et al. (1992) reviewed research on the factors associated with alcohol and other drug problems in adolescence and early adulthood and proposed that prevention should target risk factors and strengthen protective factors. They organized risk factors into domains. In the community: laws and norms favorable to use, easy availability, extreme economic deprivation and neighborhood disorganization. In the family: a family history of alcoholism or drug use, poor family management practices, family conflict and low bonding to family. In school: early and persistent behavior problems, academic failure and low commitment to school. In the individual and peer domain: early first use, alienation and rebelliousness, friends who use and favorable attitudes toward use. They emphasized that risk factors accumulate: the more a young person has, the greater the likelihood of problems. They also described protective factors, including strong bonds to family and school, healthy beliefs and clear standards for behavior, which can buffer risk.

The Power of Connectedness

Resnick et al. (1997) analyzed data from a large national study of American adolescents in grades seven through twelve, examining what protected young people from risk behaviors including substance use, emotional distress, violence and early sexual activity. Two factors stood out. Adolescents who felt connected to their parents and family, feeling close, cared for and satisfied with their relationships, were protected across nearly every risk behavior studied. So were adolescents who felt connected to their school, feeling close to people there, part of the school and treated fairly by teachers. The findings held across family structures and demographic groups.

Bond et al. (2007) followed students in Australia from early secondary school into their late teens. Students who reported good connectedness to school in their second year of secondary school were less likely to report regular smoking, drinking and drug use, as well as depressive symptoms, several years later, and were more likely to complete school. Students with low school connectedness but good social connections with peers showed the highest risk of later substance use, suggesting that friendships without connection to school may lead students toward peers who use.

Applying the Framework to Lakeshore

Three Priorities

The analysis points to three priorities. First, school connectedness in ninth grade. Only 41% of Lakeshore's ninth graders feel part of their school, the lowest of any grade, and ninth grade is when use rises most steeply. Resnick and colleagues and Bond and colleagues suggest that raising connectedness at this point could protect students across many outcomes, including substance use. Advisory periods, mentoring by older students and efforts to involve every ninth grader in at least one activity are options for the next module.

Second, misperceived norms. Tenth graders believe most classmates vape when fewer than one in five do. Students who believe use is normal are more likely to use. Correcting this misperception is inexpensive and directly within a school's control.

Third, availability near two high schools. Schools cannot close shops, but the district can work with the city on enforcement of age restrictions and with parents on awareness.

How Factors Combine

The framework also explains why a few students account for much of the district's serious use. Risk factors cluster: a student failing classes is more likely to feel disconnected from school, to spend time with friends who use and to come from a stressed family. Lakeshore's survey shows this pattern clearly. Tenth graders reporting four or more risk factors were about five times as likely to report weekly cannabis use as those reporting none or one. The same survey shows protection accumulating too: students with strong ties to both family and school reported low use even when other risks were present. For prevention, the lesson is that strengthening one protective factor, such as connection to school, can help offset several risks at once, which is why connectedness ranks first among the priorities.

Factors Schools Cannot Change

Some factors lie mostly outside a school's reach, such as family history of substance problems. The framework does not ask schools to fix families, but schools can make sure students from affected families are connected to support and that families know where to find help. Treating these students with extra care rather than suspicion is consistent with the research on connectedness.

Conclusion

Substance use among Lakeshore's students reflects factors across the community, family, school and peer domains. Hawkins, Catalano and Miller provide the framework, and Resnick and colleagues and Bond and colleagues show that connectedness to school is a strong protective factor. The analysis points the district toward building belonging in ninth grade, correcting misperceived norms and limiting availability near schools, priorities the next module will turn into a prevention plan.

References

Bond, L., Butler, H., Thomas, L., Carlin, J., Glover, S., Bowes, G., & Patton, G. (2007). Social and school connectedness in early secondary school as predictors of late teenage substance use, mental health, and academic outcomes. Journal of Adolescent Health, 40(4), 357.e9-357.e18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2006.10.013

Hawkins, J. D., Catalano, R. F., & Miller, J. Y. (1992). Risk and protective factors for alcohol and other drug problems in adolescence and early adulthood: Implications for substance abuse prevention. Psychological Bulletin, 112(1), 64-105. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.112.1.64

Resnick, M. D., Bearman, P. S., Blum, R. W., Bauman, K. E., Harris, K. M., Jones, J., Tabor, J., Beuhring, T., Sieving, R. E., Shew, M., Ireland, M., Bearinger, L. H., & Udry, J. R. (1997). Protecting adolescents from harm: Findings from the National Longitudinal Study on Adolescent Health. JAMA, 278(10), 823-832. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.1997.03550100049038