Community Partnerships in the WA Strategy Against Drug Abuse--Reducing the Risk Factors in the Local Communities (From Reducing Criminality--Partnerships and Best Practices, P 1-21, 2000, Adam Graycar, ed. -- See NCJ-186333)

• NCJ Number: 186344
• Author(s): Terry Murphy
• Date Published: 2000
• Length: 21 pages
• Sale Source: Australian Institute of Criminology
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Program/Project Description
• Language: English
• Country: Australia

Annotation

This paper describes reducing the risk factors in local communities as a strategy against drug abuse.

Abstract

Recent models of drug-prevention strategies have been driven by social psychology and identification of the antecedents of drug use. This approach, the social influences model, has tended to focus on three levels of risk factors: environmental, personality, and behavioral. Environmental factors can include the behavior of role models, social support systems that encourage drug use, and access to drugs. Personality and behavioral factors shape a young person’s response to the environment and include the value placed on more conventional goals as opposed to drug taking, the ability to manage drug use situations, and participation in non-drug alternatives. The Western Australia Strategy Against Drug Abuse focuses on families, places major emphasis on action in local communities, and supports these emphases through a range of partnerships that increase the level of activity seeking to prevent drug abuse. These efforts include the School Drug Education Project, parent drug education, Local Drug Action Groups, and Drug Aware pharmacies that provide alcohol and drug information and promote the availability of local support services. References, appendixes