The current Lights...Camera...Prevention! project is funded by the Iowa Department of Public Safety Office of Drug Control Policy through the Byrne-Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program. The 2025 project is funded to focus on rural Iowa middle- and high-school youth. Project goals include the reduction of youth substance initiation and use in rural Iowa counties and the evaluation of the effectiveness of the LCP! intervention for changing social norms related to substance misuse among rural Iowa middle- and/or high-school youth.

Youth substance use is an ongoing issue in Iowa. Rural communities have been identified as having higher rates of substance misuse, ranging from alcohol use to non-medical use of prescription drugs. A greater percentage of Iowa youth reported binge drinking in the last 30 days than the US average (NSDUH, 2019/2020), and 1 in 5 Iowa deaths among 20-49 year-olds are from excessive alcohol use (Esser et al., 2022). The percentages of Iowa 11th graders who reported having ever used tobacco or marijuana were 24% and 16%, respectively, and found that more than 1 in 4 Iowa 6th graders see “little or no risk” with using marijuana on a regular basis (Iowa Youth Survey, 2021). The age of initiation of e-cigarette use dropped from 2014-2021, coupled with an increased number of teens who report vaping marijuana at least once weekly (Glanz, et al, 2022; Columbia University, 2022). In fact, 24% of Iowa 11th graders reported ever having used an e-cigarette (Iowa Youth Survey, 2021). Vaping rates are of special concern because, “The nicotine in e-cigarettes...can prime young brains for addiction to other drugs, such as cocaine and methamphetamine” (HHS, 2016). Rural residents are more likely to die from drug overdose and they use methamphetamine and natural and semisynthetic opioid-related drugs at higher rates compared with urban dwellers (Dombrowski, 2016). As an added rural challenge, rural youth and adults perceive an overall lower risk from alcohol and prescription opioid use than those in urban communities (Gale et al., 2012; Keyes et al., 2014).

Youth substance misuse can cause worsening academic performance and higher risk for injury, car accidents, development of a substance use disorder, and overdose. These youth can suffer from decreased relationship quality, mental health issues (e.g., depression, suicide), and juvenile justice system involvement (NIDA, 2021; OJJDP, 1998). Iowa deaths of youth (defined as <25 years old) involving opioids rose 160% from 2019 to 2022 (ODCP, 2023). Community substance use levels also impact state and local law enforcement agencies that perform drug enforcement functions; approximately 90% of local police departments and sheriffs’ offices regularly performed drug enforcement functions (BJS, 2006).

The literature supports the implementation of youth prevention interventions beginning in upper elementary school (Botvin et al., 1995) and at key transition points during middle- and high-school (NIDA, 2011). Research has shown that preteens and teens who have fact-based effective, substance misuse prevention education are less likely to start using drugs and it is recommended that youth become media savvy, equip themselves with accurate information about substance use and addiction, then help peers make healthy choices (National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, 2011). Schools are a natural choice for implementation of a prevention effort in a rural area as schools are often “centers” of rural communities whose residents are spread out over a large area.

The LCP! team will utilize the existing prevention network of the Area Substance Abuse Council (covering Eastern Iowa) in addition to the Iowa State University Extension network (focused on eligible “small jurisdiction” counties statewide) to ensure that every rural county is aware of the prevention opportunity for their youth. Following adult team mentor and their students’ recruitment, the LCP! team will coordinate with adult team mentors to implement the prevention education and PSA contest.