Epidemiology and prevention research among U.S. children and adolescents

Abstract

The drug abuse prevention research and practice community has recognized only in the past two decades the important relationship between findings from epidemiologic studies and the development of effective preventive interventions. Epidemiologic studies show what drugs are being used, in what ways, and by whom. They show the age at which most drug users initiate the use of illicit drugs and what characteristics and factors are most likely to be associated with increased risk to initiate drug use. This information and advances in understanding behavior change have had significant impact on the design of effective interventions to prevent drug abuse. This chapter discusses the relationship between epidemiologic and prevention intervention research in five section: (1) a brief history of drug abuse epidemiologic and prevention intervention research; (2) an overview of the epidemiology of drug abuse with an emphasis on the initiation of drug use among children and adolescents; (3) a discussion of the implications of epidemiologic findings for the design of prevention interventions; (4) a review of recent positive findings from prevention intervention research; and (5) a summary of gaps in our knowledge base requiring additional research.

Citation

Sloboda, Z. (1999), "Epidemiology and prevention research among U.S. children and adolescents", Levy, J.A., Stephens, R.C. and McBride, D.C. (Ed.) Emergent Issues in the Field of Drug Abuse (Advances in Medical Sociology, Vol. 7), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 19-43. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1057-6290(00)80003-0