Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26518976›Full record

SynthesisAddiction (Abingdon, England)2016

Peer-led interventions to prevent tobacco, alcohol and/or drug use among young people aged 11-21 years: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

MacArthur Georgie J, Harrison Sean, Caldwell Deborah M, Hickman Matthew, Campbell Rona

Registry-linked trialOpen access · hybridAbstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Addiction (Abingdon, England), 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT07074860 (Clinical Screening and Peer Interventions to Prevent Substance Use in At-Risk Adolescents), which is not on this map. Cited by 99 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
99citing papers in PubMed, 7 pooled it
9.6field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT07074860 nanot yet recruitingnot on this mapstarted 2025, after this paper: background citation

Clinical Screening and Peer Interventions to Prevent Substance Use in At-Risk Adolescents

TypeinterventionalSponsorUniversity of VermontRan2025 to 2027Enrolled50ConditionsInitation of Substance Use DisorderArmsPeer to peer video to raise awareness about substance use
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

99 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 254 citations in OpenAlex.

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39 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

MacArthur Georgie JSchool of Social and Community Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
Harrison SeanSchool of Social and Community Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
Caldwell Deborah MSchool of Social and Community Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
Hickman MatthewSchool of Social and Community Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
Campbell RonaSchool of Social and Community Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
University of Bristol · GB

Funding

British Heart Foundation MR/KO232331/1Department of Health PDF-2013-06-026Medical Research Council G0800612Medical Research Council G0802736Medical Research Council G0902118Medical Research Council MR/K023233/1Medical Research Council MR/L022206/1Wellcome TrustWellcome Trust 102432/Z/13/Z
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND

aimsPeer-led interventions may offer a beneficial approach in preventing substance use, but their impact has not yet been quantified. We conducted a systematic review to investigate and quantify the effect of peer-led interventions that sought to prevent tobacco, alcohol and/or drug use among young people aged 11-21 years.

methodsMedline, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, ERIC and the Cochrane Library were searched from inception to July 2015 without language restriction. We included randomized controlled trials only. Screening and data extraction were conducted in duplicate and data from eligible studies were pooled in a random effects meta-analysis.

resultsWe identified 17 eligible studies, approximately half of which were school-based studies targeting tobacco use among adolescents. Ten studies targeting tobacco use could be pooled, representing 13,706 young people in 220 schools. Meta-analysis demonstrated that the odds of smoking were lower among those receiving the peer-led intervention compared with control [odds ratio (OR) = 0.78, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.62-0.99, P = 0.040]. There was evidence of heterogeneity (I(2) = 41%, χ(2) 15.17, P = 0.086). Pooling of six studies representing 1699 individuals in 66 schools demonstrated that peer-led interventions were also associated with benefit in relation to alcohol use (OR = 0.80, 95% CI = 0.65-0.99, P = 0.036), while three studies (n = 976 students in 38 schools) suggested an association with lower odds of cannabis use (OR = 0.70, 0.50-0.97, P = 0.034). No studies were found that targeted other illicit drug use.

conclusionsPeer interventions may be effective in preventing tobacco, alcohol and possibly cannabis use among adolescents, although the evidence base is limited overall, and is characterized mainly by small studies of low quality.

Indexed as

Peer GroupSmoking PreventionAdolescentAlcohol DrinkingChildHumansMarijuana SmokingOdds RatioRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicSchool Health ServicesSubstance-Related DisordersTobacco Use DisorderUnderage DrinkingYoung AdultAlcoholcannabisinterventionpeersubstance usesystematic reviewtobaccoyoung people

Identifiers

PMID26518976
PMCPMC4833174
OpenAlexW1897592702

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.