NCJ Number
164517
Date Published
1996
Length
20 pages
Annotation
Drug prevention strategies need to include multiple components and to be comprehensive, unlike the many prevention approaches that either have not been evaluated or have been determined to be ineffective.
Abstract
Current unevaluated and ineffective approaches include those that disseminate factual information about drug use both with and without the use of fear-arousal tactics or moral appeals, affective education, and alternative approaches. The increasing knowledge about the factors that promote and maintain the use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs make it clear that approaches based on narrow conceptual frameworks will inevitably fail to address significant causal factors adequately. Several approaches developed in the past decade have proven to be far more promising than those of earlier years. The most effective address the psychosocial factors that appear to have the most important role in promoting the initiation and maintenance of drug use. The use of these successful psychosocial approaches needs to expand. In addition, comparable intervention models are needed for delivery in additional settings besides schools. These include religious institutions, youth centers, shopping malls, families, interactive videos, the Internet, and other computer-based technologies. The most cost-efficient development approaches will be grounded in carefully planned and rigorously designed research. 75 references