TECHNOLOGIES FOR UNDERSTANDING AND PREVENTING SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND ADDICTION

US Government Office of Technology Assessment

October 18, 1994

Contents

1 Executive Summary

• Root Causes
• Necessary Preconditions
• Individual Factors
• Community Contexts
• Policy Options

2 Introduction

• Root Causes
• What Are Substance Abuse and Addiction
• Magnitude of the Problem
• Measuring Substance Use and Abuse
• Organization and Scope of the Report

Part I: Necessary Preconditions

3 Biology and Pharmacology

• Drug Action
• Genetic Factors
• Role of Learning
• Summary

4 Availability

• Availability
• Are Drugs Readily Available
• Marketing
• Summary

5 Substance Use and Transitions to Abuse and Addiction

• Substance Use
• Stages in the Initiation of Use
• Stages in the Cycle of Use, Abuse, and Addiction
• Stages in Problem Behaviors
• Key Aspects of Use
• Summary

Part II: Individual Factors

6 Individual Risk and Protective Factors

• Demographics
• Economics
• Psychosocial/Behavioral
• Summary

Part III: Activity Settings

7 Ethnographic Drug Studies

• Ethnographic Studies of Alcohol and Other Drug Use
• Social Context of Drug Use
• Poverty, Racism, and Cycle of Abuse
• Future Research
• Summary

8 Community Activity Settings

• Homes and Families
• Schools and Peers
• Workplaces
• Recreational Settings
• Planning, Implementing, and Evaluating Community-wide Programs
• Summary

9 Policy Options

• Federal Focus and Prevention Program Structure
• Research Needs
• Community Activity Settings
• Availability

APPENDICES

A Drug Control Policy in the United States: Historical Perspectives

B Federal Programs: Prevention and Causation

C Perspectives on Defining Substance Abuse

D List of Contracts

E List of Workshops and Participants

F Acknowledgments

References

The Report in PDF File Format

Full Report ~3999K

Front Matter ~117K

Table of Contents ~98K

Chapters

1: Executive Summary ~608K

2: Introduction ~400K

Part I: Necessary Preconditions ~87K

3: Biology and Pharmacology ~285K

4: Availability ~370K

5: Substance Use and Transitions to Abuse and Addiction ~240K

Part II: Individual Factors ~86K

6: Individual Risk and Protective Factors ~466K

Part III: Activity Settings ~86K

7: Ethnographic Drug Studies ~311K

8: Community Activity Settings ~579K

9: Policy Options ~155K

Appendixes

A: Drug Control Policy in the United States: Historical Perspectives ~125K

B: Federal Programs: Prevention and Causation ~145K

C: Perspectives on Defining Substance Abuse ~126K

D: List of Contracts ~92K

E: List of Workshops and Participants ~107K

F: Acknowledgments ~96K

G: References ~981K

Index ~294K