During the past 15 years it has become clear that some of the most widely used prevention approaches are either ineffective or of unproven effectiveness. Notable among these are approaches relying on information about adverse consequences of drug abuse, affective education, and alternatives to drug use. More recent research has demonstrated the effectiveness of approaches that focus on psychosocial factors; these approaches emphasize the teaching of social resistance skills whether alone or combined with generic personal and social skills. Studies on these approaches have revealed that they can reduce drug use for up to 6 years. Although research has mainly used white, middle-class populations, a few studies indicate the usefulness of these approaches with inner-city minority populations consisting mainly of black and Hispanic youth. 57 references