USING RESEARCH TO GUIDE CULTURALLY APPROPRIATE DRUG-ABUSE PREVENTION

Several ways in which research can be an important tool in creating culturally appropriate prevention programs are suggested. To illustrate cultural variability, we present data from a study of 5th-grade African-American and European-American students. These data describe rates of early initiation, levels of exposure to identified risk factors, and degree to which identified risk factors predict substances initiated. Results indicate that European-American Ss have higher rates of tobacco and alcohol initiation, that the same risk factors predict the variety of substances initiated for African-American and European-American Ss, and that several differences exist in the level of exposure to risk factors between the 2 groups. Implications of the findings for developing culturally appropriate drug abuse prevention are discussed.