A program of research is proposed, including both basic and applied studies to improve substance abuse prevention programs and provide an applied test of SCT. Two mediating variables, self- efficacy expectancies and outcome expectancies, are critical in the learning process and are overviewed here. Four determinants of the effectiveness of modeling which can be useful in research and program planning include attention, retention, motivation, and production. The author recommends the measurement of SCT-relevant intervening variables and the standardization of measures used in research on adolescent substance abuse programs so that tenets of SCT can be evaluated and programs can be more theoretically based. 1 table and 49 references