Intro –

We begin this unit with reading from the Thompson text. Chapter 4, "Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse." The chapter highlights the National Survey on Drug Use and Health and describes different types of use and abuse. The age of onset of this behavior is considered, as well as the differences between heavy and binge types of drinking. This chapter further examines gender differences in delinquent and drinking behaviors, the predictors of alcohol and drug use, and the risk and protective factors involved. Structured interventions for high risk behaviors are considered, and a model for using comprehensive interventions with multi-modal counseling. Different intervention strategies and methods to change behaviors are detailed.

We supplement this information with the Biglan text, where we will review "The Causal Structure of Alcohol Use and Problems in Early Life," "The Prevention of Tobacco Use," and "The Prevention of Drug Abuse." These chapters will increase the foundation of knowledge for any advocate who wishes to improve skills in identifying issues of this nature and in knowing how to respond and provide support to youth in the most effective ways.

The material begins with a discussion of the high prevalence of alcohol abuse in today's society and the cultural ambivalence toward alcohol in general, and explores the development of alcohol use and alcohol problems. It explains the causes of alcoholism and their occurrence on multiple levels, such as behavior under control, neurobiology, heterogeneity of influences, and the relationship between alcohol and antisocial behavior. Finally, it details high-risk environments and what we have learned about preventing alcoholism.

References

Biglan, A., Walberg, H. J., & Wang, M. C. (Eds.). (2010). Preventing youth problems. New York, NY: Springer. ISBN: 9781441933980.

Thompson, R. A. (2006). Nurturing future generations: Promoting resilience in children and adolescents through social, emotional and cognitive skills. New York, NY: Routledge. ISBN: 9780415950978.

Problem to address

Causal Risk Factors for tobacco use

Brief <500 discussion

Create a discussion regarding the prevention of tobacco use among young people of today. Incorporate risk factors and factors that influence this behavior. Discuss cessation programs, find your own research, that are geared toward youth and discuss their efficacy rates and factors that may improve them.

In Thompson's Nurturing Future Generations: Promoting Resilience in Children and Adolescents Through Social, Emotional, and Cognitive Skills, read Chapter 4, pages 121–170.

In Biglan, Wang, and Wahlberg's, Preventing Youth Problems, read Chapters 2 through 4, pages 33–64.