Preventing Adolescent Drug Use: From Theory to Practice. OSAP Prevention Monograph-8.

This monograph provides a framework for communities to build and evaluate adolescent drug abuse prevention programs. The first chapter "Adolescent Transitions and Alcohol and Other Drug Use Prevention," by Laurence Steinberg, focuses on the biological, cognitive, and psychosocial transitions of adolescence and how this knowledge can be used to intervene effectively with youth. It is concluded that, where possible, prevention efforts should be targeted to the youngest and most vulnerable. The second chapter "Identification of Youth at High Risk for Alcohol or Other Drug Problems," by Raymond P. Lorion, Danielle Bussell, and Richard Goldberg, examines methods for identifying those most at risk, and analyzes risk factors. The article cautions that identification could lead to stigmatization and self-fulfilling behavior. The third chapter "Reaching and Retaining High Risk Youth and Their Parents in Prevention Programs," by Hank Resnik and Marba Wojcicki, emphasizes new methods for reaching high-risk youth and involving them and their families in prevention programs. One such strategy is to empower communities through organization and good planning to address the problems associated with alcohol and other drug problems at the community level. The fourth chapter "Promoting Health Development Through School-Based Prevention, New Approaches," by Eric Schaps and Victor Battistich, reviews early intervention programs and discusses reaching the very young through well-planned preschool and elementary school programs. (LLL)