This was the topic of my first Master's thesis way back in 1989. What I was looking into was how to help prevent children and teens from developing psychoactive substance abuse and addiction problems. The conclusion I came up with was that relationship and connection and meaning help insulate youth from chemical dependency. This article discusses the same subject and highlights similar findings.This TED talk called "Everything You Know About Addiction"  is really worth listening to as it too calls us to look at relationship and meaning as interventions to substance abuse and addiction. We are bonding creatures. If we cannot bond to other humans in meaningful and fulfilling ways, we will bond to something that makes us, at least temporarily, feel okay. That something might be alcohol, gambling, or porn. It does not matter what it is as long as we can bond to it. To the left is a picture of my birds who are bonded to each other even though they are different species and sizes.