NCJ Number
235413
Date Published
1993
Length
43 pages
Annotation
Drawing on the experiences of grant programs sponsored by the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) to demonstrate effective strategies for the prevention of the abuse of alcohol and other drugs (AOD), as well as from the professional literature, this report focuses on individual risk factors for the abuse of AOD and describes state-of-the art prevention strategies for individuals, particularly youth.
Abstract
Regarding the definition of AOD abuse, CSAP's policy is that any use of alcohol or other drugs by children and adolescents constitutes abuse. The consensus regarding risk factors presents a portrait of the young user of AOD as one who may not be integrated into the accepted support structure of traditional societal institutions; however, this places youth at risk for becoming integrated into a nontraditional, delinquent, or problematic peer network, or just as risky, become alienated from any social network. Additional individual risk factors are poor impulse control, a propensity to take risks, depression/alienation, low harm aversion, permissive attitudes toward AOD use, persistent aggressive behavior, and commission of other delinquent behaviors. Other risk factors for a youth's AOD abuse are school maladjustment, pregnancy for teen girls, and physical abuse at home. Generally, the research on protective factors for AOD abuse identifies three categories: positive temperament, emotionally supportive parental/family milieu, and supportive societal institutions that strengthen and reinforce the child's coping efforts. Effective prevention strategies for addressing individual risk factors for AOD abuse are in four areas: skills programs, family management/parenting programs, family and individual therapies, and law enforcement and interdiction. This paper provides examples of the types of AOD prevention strategies that have proven effective in each of these arenas. 219 references