Street-involved children and youth who work and live on or off the streets face elevated risks of using psychoactive substances and injecting drugs. A systematic review of studies published from 1985 to 2022 found that the most commonly reported lifetime and current substances were tobacco, cannabis, LSD/ecstasy, cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, and injection drugs. Lifetime and current use of methamphetamine and cannabis, as well as lifetime use of cocaine, LSD/ecstasy, heroin, tobacco, and injection drugs, increased with age, while current cocaine and tobacco use decreased with age.
Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) consistently reduce gambling frequency and cravings while improving psychological outcomes. When combined with cognitive behavioral therapy, MBIs produce significant declines in problem gambling behavior. Psychological distress and cravings also decrease notably across different intervention types. However, it remains unclear how much of these effects come from mindfulness-specific mechanisms. The evidence comes from 12 studies, including five randomized controlled trials, but small sample sizes and methodological limitations mean more robust research is needed.