Substance Abuse Among School-Aged Children

CE Course Description

As young people move toward individuation and independence, they are often particularly vulnerable to the experimentation and risk-taking that accompanies substance use.  This brief, intermediate level continuing education course, developed using information from the Center for Mental Health in Schools at UCLA, provides a broad overview of the nature and scope of substance use/abuse, as well as information on identifying and guiding students who are struggling with substance misuse. In addition, methods to prevent and treat abuse are presented, along with informative and supportive resources.

Author: The Center for Mental Health in Schools at UCLA

CE Course Objectives

1. Summarize data related to substance use/abuse among school-aged children as well as causes and correlates.
2. Discuss guides and tools used to identify, assess, and assist students with substance misuse issues.
3. Review frequently asked questions about the use of random drug testing in school settings.
4. Provide an overview of risk and protective factors, prevention principles, and various drug prevention and intervention programs.
5. Differentiate between young people and adults in the areas of substance use patterns, prevalence, effects, prevention, treatment, and outcomes.
6. Outline the principles of adolescent substance use disorder treatment, along with considerations for working with unique populations.

CE Course Outline

Introduction (5 mins)

1. Keeping a Perspective on the Problem of Substance Abuse (10 mins)

Section 1: A Broad Overview for Understanding the Nature and Scope of Substance use/Abuse: Fact Sheets and Reports (50 mins)

1. Some Data (10 mins)
2. Causes and Correlates (10 mins)
3. Information about Abused Substances (20 mins)
4. Some Notes (10 mins)

Section 2: Guides and tools for appropriately identifying and guiding students who need help with abuse (80 mins)

1. Screening and Surveillance (20 mins)
2. Frequently Asked Questions (20 mins)
3. What to Do (20 mins)
4. If you have a problem with drugs (for teens and young adults) (10 mins)
5. If your teen or young adult has a problem with drugs (10 mins)
6. Substance abuse checklist (20 mins)

Section 3: Prevention (80 mins)

1. What are Risk and Protective Factors? (10 mins)
2. Examples of Drug Abuse Prevention Programs (5 mins)
3. Principles of Prevention (15 mins)
4. Prevailing Approaches to Prevention (10 mins)
5. Prevention of Substance Abuse and Mental Illness (10 mins)
6. Annotated List of Empirically Supported Programs (10 mins)
7. Substance Abuse Prevention: Toward a comprehensive, multifaceted approach (10 mins)
8. Drug Free Communities (DFC) Program (10 mins)

Section 4: Treatment (60 mins)

1. Principles for Treatment (15 mins)
2. Evidence-Based Approaches for Treating Young Substance Abusers (15 mins)
3. Treatment of Ethnic Minority Substance Abusers (10 mins)
4. Integrated Treatment for Co-occurring Disorders (20 mins)

Section 5: Resources (15 mins)

1. References (5 mins)
2. Agencies and Websites (5 mins)
3. Center Resources (5 mins)

Afterword (10 mins)

1. The Legal High: Factors Affecting Young Consumers' Risk Perceptions and Abuse of Prescription Drugs (10 mins)