Substance Use Prevention in an Underserved Population: Young Adults in Transition

Background: Young adults in the United States have some of the highest rates of substance use and substance use disorders. Data from the 2021 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) show that when compared to all people ages 12 or older, young adults ages 18 to 25 (referred to as transition-age youth here) report the highest rates of past-month marijuana use and of having an alcohol use disorder. Transition-age youth who do not attend college full time are at even greater risk of having a substance use disorder, with 24.5 percent reporting such a disorder, compared to 19.9 percent of those who attend college full time.

Program background: SAMHSA conducted research to identify the need for substance use prevention materials for those who work with transition-age youth who do not attend college full time. The research provided a foundation for an educational effort, consisting of information, resources, and messaging on www.StopAlcoholAbuse.gov. Steps included a literature review, environmental scan, and in-depth interviews with prevention professionals working with young adults who were not attending college full time. Based on this research, key messages were created to reach those prevention professionals and tested with an additional group of prevention professionals. SAMHSA incorporated the findings, finalized messaging, and created tips for prevention professionals to reach young adults who are not full-time college students.

Evaluation Methods and Results: Effectiveness of the educational effort was analyzed through web traffic. When the webpage was promoted more heavily through the StopAlcoholAbuse.gov newsletter, the number of visits increased from a low of approximately 25 visits to 150 visits per month. Partner organizations showed interest in the educational effort, but few promoted the webpage content to their members.

Conclusions: Although the results of the interviews indicated that there was a need for this educational effort, the number of visits to the webpage demonstrated that robust promotion is necessary. Partner engagement must be increased as well to reach a wider audience. Other promotional efforts will include social media posts on SAMHSA platforms, a blog, and a webinar for prevention professionals working with this population to increase knowledge of the resources. Information on the page will be expanded to include resources that address specific substances of concern, such as alcohol and marijuana, that were mentioned in the original interviews.

Implications for research and/or practice: Transition-age youth who do not attend college full time are at greater risk of having a substance use disorder than those in college, and there are fewer resources to aid prevention efforts for this population. To meet this need, resources and materials can be developed; however, more research needs to be conducted to assess the best ways to reach those who work with these youth so that they are more aware of such resources. Reaching out to non-traditional audiences, such as retail and food and beverage associations, trade unions, and occupational safety programs could also be incorporated to further spread the substance use and misuse prevention messages.