This report examined the effectiveness of alcohol and drug abuse prevention programs as indicated through a review of the existing literature. The study of the existing literature on alcohol and drug abuse prevention programs was said to be important because of the large incidence of substance abuse in American and because of the serious physical, social, psychological, and financial costs that have been associated with the problem.
The review began with an examination of studies which attempted to evaluate the effectiveness of alcohol and drug prevention education programs in general. The reviewed material indicated that there was a good deal of variance in program effectiveness but that on the average, programs were only marginally to moderately effective. It was noted that this made it important to look at effectiveness research by looking at specific program findings.
The final section of the review examined evaluative research for particular programs. Three levels of programs were reviewed: those implemented at the national level; those implemented at the state level; and those implemented at the local level. In general, most programs were not observed to be as effective as might be desired. However, on the average, local programs appeared to be somewhat more effective than state programs and state programs appeared to be somewhat more effective than national programs. Effectiveness might be related to the fact that local programs are more tailed to community needs.
THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ALCOHOL AND DRUG ABUSE PREVENTION PROGRAMS:
A CRITICAL REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
This paper examines the literature on the kinds and types of alcohol and drug abuse prevention programs available and their general effectiveness. There is a clear need to thoroughly investigate and understand programs effective in preventing alcohol and drug abuse; this need arises from the high incidence of alcohol/drug abuse in American...