Future directions in drug abuse prevention research

For most youth, substance use appears to be the result, in large part, of social influences. Thus, teaching youth to resist these influences appears to be a reasonable approach to the prevention of use. However, it is not realistic to assume that all youth use for the same reason or respond to the same prevention approach. Moreover, identification of factors that act to promote or deter the transition from experimental or occasional use to abuse has not been addressed by these studies. While the social inoculation and social skills approaches appear to hold considerable promise for many youth, the research results indicate that a sizeable number of youth initiate and escalate use in spite of these programs. It appears that those youth who are most at risk for compulsive drug use are those who use drugs for reasons other than social influences (Robins and Przybeck 1985). Thus there is a need not to focus on any single prevention approach, but to explore multiple strategies. Identifying effective prevention approaches also requires the ability to target programs--to identify which types of individuals are effectively reached with a specific approach. Alternative programs, such as the cognitive-developmental approach described by Glynn, Leventhal, and Hirschman, warrant additional attention. A host of areas needing further research have been identified above. While the RAUS review participants did not establish priorities among areas, some attempt to do so is necessary since funds available for research are limited.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)