Know the Facts
This part of the brain, responsible for decision-making and impulse control, is still developing through your mid-20s.
What is the prefrontal cortex?
Supportive relationships — with family, friends, mentors, or coaches — are examples of what in both mental health and substance use prevention.
What are protective factors?
This is the first step of the Strategic Prevention Framework, where you gather data about your community.
What is assessment?
This type of prevention work focuses on stopping substance use before it starts, especially by changing environments and systems.
What is primary (or upstream) prevention?
This federal agency, abbreviated SAMHSA, provides funding and guidance for community prevention programs across the U.S.
What is the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration?
This brain chemical is released during substance use and plays a key role in the brain’s reward system.
What is dopamine?
A school with outdated materials, few counselors, and overcrowded classrooms is experiencing a breakdown in this key SDOH category.
What is education access and quality?
This SPF step involves creating a plan with goals, strategies, and timelines.
What is planning?
Youth leaders can influence school or public policy by doing this — preparing a short, persuasive statement and delivering it during a public comment period at a school board or legislative meeting.
What is testifying?
This federal agency, abbreviated CDC, tracks public health threats and helps prevent disease across the U.S.
What is the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention?
This term refers to patterns of substance use that cause significant problems in daily life, including health, school, or relationships.
What is Substance Use Disorder (SUD)?
This term describes when policies and systems—like redlining or underfunded schools—create barriers to health and increase substance use risk for certain populations.
This step is where you put your plan into action, always based on data and community needs.
What is implementation?
Youth prevention programs that are based on research and proven to work are called this — and using them increases the chances that your intervention will actually reduce substance use.
What are evidence-based practices?
This federal program, abbreviated DFC, funds coalitions to reduce youth substance use at the local level.
What is the Drug-Free Communities program?
This system in the body is responsible for regulating heart rate, digestion, and breathing — and it can shut down during an overdose.
What is the central nervous system?
This public health model shows how individual behavior is influenced by relationships, communities, and society — and it's often used to design effective prevention strategies.
What is the socio-ecological model?
In this SPF step, you figure out what’s working and what’s not.
What is evaluation?
Instead of suspension or punishment, schools that use these responses are more effective at reducing youth vaping.
What are positive, supportive, and/or restorative practices? (e.g. counseling, education)
This branch of SAMHSA focuses specifically on prevention and is abbreviated to CSAP.
What is the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention?
According to recent CDC data, this is the most common reason teens give for using substances like alcohol or cannabis.
What is “to cope with stress, anxiety, or emotions”?
Sidewalks, streetlights, safe housing, and access to public transit are all part of this SDOH category that shapes how people move through and feel in their communities.
What is built environment?
These two steps happen throughout every stage of the SPF and ensure your efforts are meaningful and long-lasting.
What are cultural competence and sustainability?
According to the U.S. Constitution, this is the minimum age a person must be to run for the House of Representatives.
What is 25?
This is the national survey, abbreviated to YRBS, that collects data on topics including substance use and mental health in schools across the country.
What is the Youth Risk Behavior Survey?