Trends in Substance Use Prevention Program Participation Among Adolescents in the U.S.

Purpose: The aim of the article was to examine national trends in adolescent participation in substance use prevention programs (SUPP). Methods: We examine 15 years of cross-sectional data (2002–2016) from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Main outcomes were participation in past-year school and community-based SUPP (no/yes). Logistic regression was used to examine trends in the prevalence of participation. Results: Participation in school-based SUPP decreased significantly from 48% among adolescents in 2002–2003 to 40% in 2015–2016, a 16.5% proportional decline. Significant declines for school-based participation were observed in all demographic and drug involvement subgroups examined. Youth participation in community-based SUPP also decreased significantly. However, this downward trend was significant only among younger teens, females, youth in very low (<$20,000) and moderate ($40,000–$74,999) income households and in rural areas. Conclusions: Participation in SUPP has decreased since the early 2000s, with noteworthy declines among Latino youth and youth from rural areas and socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds.