Early Discipline Tied to Less Use of Drugs, Alcohol in Teens

Correcting disruptive behavior in young children could help prevent them from using alcohol and drugs when they’re teens, researchers report. The findings suggest “that by selectively targeting disruptive behaviors in early childhood, and without addressing substance use directly, we could have long-term effects on substance use behaviors in later life,” Castellanos-Ryan said.

“Our study shows that a two-year intervention aimed at key risk factors in disruptive kindergarten boys from low socioeconomic environments can effectively reduce substance use behaviors in adolescence — not only in early adolescence but up to the end of high school, eight years post-intervention,” study author Natalie Castellanos-Ryan, of the University of Montreal, said in a university news release.

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