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School-based brief interventions to reduce substance use and delinquent-type behaviours
Summary of the evidence
School-based brief interventions were found in a systematic review (Carney et al., 2016, 6 RCT, N=1 176) to have no different effect than information-only interventions (eg. general health promotion materials and harm reduction information) in:
- reducing alcohol and cannabis use
- reducing delinquent-type behaviours
There was very low-quality evidence that brief school-based interventions may be more effective in reducing alcohol and cannabis use than no-intervention (i.e when compared to assessment-only) and that these reductions were sustained at long-term follow-up, however it is premature to make a definitive statement.
Details
Note: this evidence summary is only valid for the outcomes, target groups, settings and substances/patterns of use described below.
