Efforts to curtail alcohol abuse and alcoholism can be divided into primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention. Primary prevention attempts to stop a problem or illness from occurring in the first place. Secondary prevention identifies persons in the early stages of problematic or illness behavior and refers them for counseling or treatment, which is considered tertiary prevention. Five research areas concerned with primary and secondary prevention are selected for discussion: youth, the mass media, the worksite, blacks and Hispanics, and alcohol-related behavior that increases the risk of AIDS. Several of these themes have been in the forefront of alcohol prevention research; others such as AIDS are emergent areas of injury. The discussion to follow briefly summarizes research approaches, key findings, methodological shortcomings, and suggested issues for future investigation. Although scientifically solid prevention studies have been conducted, more rigorous, more comprehensive, and more innovative research is needed. Given the dynamic sociocultural and economic systems in which prevention occurs, research techniques that can address this complexity are required. A range of appropriate methodologies is described.
Historically, mankind has at least suspected that alcohol was somehow connected with undesirable effects on progeny. In the 18th century, physicians became aware that maternal alcohol consumption resulted in excess fetal and neonatal mortality, low b...
From 1980 through 1985, considerable progress was made across the Nation in reducing drunken driving and fatal automobile crashes. More than 400 chapters of local citizen groups concerned with reducing drunken driving were formed. New media coverage,...
Substantial scientific evidence has accumulated that both genetic and environmental factors predispose the development of alcoholism in certain individuals. Evidence has accumulated to indicate that alcoholism is a heterogeneous entity arising from m...
Sensitivity to gender issues in the research community has generated a modest but growing amount of data on the biological effects of alcohol consumption on women. Data generally indicate that the same amounts of alcohol have greater effects on women...
Alcoholism is an often overlooked health problem because alcoholics usually do not seek treatment for their drinking problems. They do, however, seek general medical care for other health reasons, and a number of screening techniques have proven usef...
During fiscal year 1987, expenditures for alcohol and drug abuse services in facilities receiving at least some funds from State alcohol and drug agencies totaled $1,809,749,013. Of this total, approximately 51.1 percent was contributed by State gove...
Williams, G D; Grant, B F; Stinson, F S; Zobeck, T S; Aitken, S S; Noble, J;
Published Date:
1988 Nov-Dec
Source:
Public Health Rep. 103(6):592-597
Description:
Two major trends regarding alcohol use and consequences of alcohol abuse in the United States are showing significant improvement. Continued declines are evident in age-adjusted rates of liver cirrhosis mortality, and per capita alcohol consumption i...
The economic effects of alcohol abuse are as damaging to the nation as the health effects, affecting the family, the community, and persons of all ages. Underaged drinking is interfering with children's development, affecting the nation's ability to ...
An empirical biobehavioral research approach to the conditions generally identified as alcohol abuse and alcoholism emphasizes the temporal ordering of participating biochemical, physiological, and behavioral events that provide an operational basis ...
A discriminant analysis of the 806 suicide victims in Erie County, NY, from 1972-84, compared those with alcohol in the blood to those without. Thirty-three percent of the victims had alcohol in their blood. Those with blood alcohol present were more...
Johnson, E M; Amatetti, S; Funkhouser, J E; Johnson, S;
Published Date:
1988 Nov-Dec
Source:
Public Health Rep. 103(6):578-586
Description:
The Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration's Office for Substance Abuse Prevention (OSAP) was established to initiate programs to provide prevention and early intervention services for young people, especially high-risk youth. OSAP's s...
There are 28 million children of alcoholics in the United States--1 of every 8 Americans. They are more likely than others to suffer from alcoholism and a wide range of physical, emotional, and mental health problems. It is probable that an inherited...
It is well known that alcohol abuse is significantly involved in the incidence of casualties (that is, accidents and injuries as they are defined for the purpose of coding diagnoses in the International Classification of Diseases). Thus, a study was ...
The nature of alcohol problems, knowledge about alcohol use and abuse, and public perceptions and responses have all undergone substantial change during the past half-century. This paper traces some interrelationships between changes in alcohol-speci...
An extensive review of the literature on college students' drinking patterns and problems since the mid-1930s revealed no radical changes over the past several decades. However, during the past 10 years, drinking and problems related to drinking and ...
An empirical biobehavioral research approach to the conditions generally identified as alcohol abuse and alcoholism emphasizes the temporal ordering of participating biochemical, physiological, and behavioral events that provide an operational basis ...
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (U.S.). Division of Population Health.
Published Date:
12/31/15
Description:
Excessive alcohol use is responsible for 88,000 deaths in the United States each year. It also accounts for 1 of 10 deaths among workingage adults and shortens the lives of those who die by an average of 30 years. Excessive drinking includes binge dr...
The findings in 32 studies on alcohol and injuries and deaths attributed to fires and burns were analyzed in detail. The studies, all in English, were published between 1947 and 1986. Most of them were descriptive and reported on the percent of the v...
It is well known that alcohol abuse is significantly involved in the incidence of casualties (that is, accidents and injuries as they are defined for the purpose of coding diagnoses in the International Classification of Diseases). Thus, a study was ...