Research Topic · Peer-Reviewed

Alcohol and Drug Abuse

Alcohol and drug abuse refers to the harmful or hazardous use of psychoactive substances, including alcohol, cannabis, opioids, stimulants, and sedatives, in patterns that impair health, behaviour, and social functioning and that may progress to dependence. Within preventive medicine, the field addresses the determi…

Curated from this journal's research 📚 6 peer-reviewed articles cited Cited 31× across the literature 🔖 ISSN 2474-3585 🗓 Reviewed July 2026

Overview

Alcohol and drug abuse refers to the harmful or hazardous use of psychoactive substances, including alcohol, cannabis, opioids, stimulants, and sedatives, in patterns that impair health, behaviour, and social functioning and that may progress to dependence. Within preventive medicine, the field addresses the determinants, screening, and avoidance of substance use disorders before they become entrenched, alongside early intervention and harm reduction. Abuse is distinguished from controlled or therapeutic use by criteria such as loss of control, tolerance, withdrawal, continued use despite adverse consequences, and craving. Risk is shaped by interacting factors: genetic predisposition, neuroadaptation in dopaminergic reward pathways, adolescent brain development, mental-health comorbidity, peer and family influences, socioeconomic stress, and ready availability. Psychosocial determinants are especially relevant among school-age and young populations, where initiation of substances such as marijuana is linked to attitudes, perceived norms, and emotional self-regulation. Preventive strategies span primary prevention through education and policy, secondary prevention through screening instruments and brief counselling, and tertiary prevention through treatment and relapse reduction. Effective programmes integrate epidemiological surveillance, school- and community-based interventions, and attention to underlying psychological and emotional health, recognising substance abuse as a multifactorial public-health problem rather than solely an individual failing.

Research published in this journal

6 peer-reviewed articles, ranked by relevance. Each links to its DOI.

How this research is being cited

The 6 articles above have been cited 31 times in the scholarly literature. Citation data via OpenAlex and Crossref, updated Jun 2026.

A sample of recent works citing this journal's research on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, linking to each citing work.

Editorial oversight

Curated from peer-reviewed research published in Preventive Medicine And Care (ISSN 2474-3585).

Journal editorial board
Heejung Kim · South Korea Monica Wang · United States Siddhartha Jonnalagadda · United States

This page summarises published research for orientation; it is not medical or professional advice.