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The Social Contextual Approach and Rural Adolescent Substance Use: Implications for Prevention in Rural Settings

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Abstract

Adolescents in rural areas use substances at rates comparable to urban adolescents; understanding causes of rural adolescent substance use is critical if prevention efforts are to succeed. The present review has three primary goals: (1) to define rural, (2) to evaluate the empirical evidence regarding correlates and causes of rural adolescent substance use from a social contextual framework (L. V. Scaramella, R. D. Conger, R. Spoth, & R. L. Simons, in press), and (3) to discuss the malleability of theoretically based risk or protective factors in rural settings. The review concludes with a discussion of the difficulties and challenges of implementing prevention programs in rural areas.

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Scaramella, L.V., Keyes, A.W. The Social Contextual Approach and Rural Adolescent Substance Use: Implications for Prevention in Rural Settings. Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev 4, 231–251 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1017599031343

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