A Review of the Prevention of Drug Addiction: Specific Interventions, Effectiveness, and Important Topics

Abstract

Background: This study was a narrative review on prevention of addictive behaviors with an effort to clarify the major concepts of prevention and its dimensions. Methods: The PsycInfo and MedInfo databases were used to identify prevention. Α total of 65 articles were found 46 of which were included in the review. Τhe data were analyzed using content analysis. Findings: For a better understanding of the results, it was deemed advisable to categorize them into: (a) the types of major interventions and the theoretical approaches on which they were based, (b) the results of the review articles according to (1) variables and factors concerning the prevention proved important through the review and (2) a number of more general important topics which arose in the prevention of addictive behaviors. Conclusion: The results highlighted the greater effectiveness of community-based programs, applied primarily in broader contexts but also secondarily in high-risk groups. Τhe results were discussed based on the combination of the emerged factors with each other and prevention experience.