Background: Adolescent alcohol use continues to be a critical public health problem with both short- and long-term negative health consequences. Defining oneself in terms of alcohol, a drinking-related identity, has been shown to predict high levels of alcohol use. Because adolescence is the developmental period during which identity development…

Antisocial peer behavior and low parental knowledge of adolescents' activities are key interpersonal risk factors for adolescent substance use. However, how the magnitude of associations between these risk factors and substance use may vary across adolescence remains less well understood. The present study examined the age-varying associations of…

This article focuses on such a highly relevant subject as the prevention and correction of deviant behavior in the adolescent environment. The study revealed the main vectors for the development of the modern science of deviant behavior, identified the main causes of deviations and carried out a comparative analysis of the work on the prevention…

High-risk drinking (HRD) is a public health priority on college campuses in order to decrease harm to individuals who engage in HRD, as well as others in their presence. We posit an underexplored impact of campus HRD culture: the exposure of marginalized students to instances of bias perpetrated by those under the influence. Therefore, our focus…

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) present serious problems for the twenty-first century. These disorders describe a variety of neurological and behavioral deficits that result from exposure of an unborn child to alcohol during pregnancy. While thousands of children are diagnosed with FASD annually, FASD is completely preventable if women…

Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) is a model program in the medical context, but it may be missing a large portion of the population with low access to healthcare services. Young adults have the lowest rates of insurance, low healthcare service utilization, and high rates of substance use. Theory driven Screening and…

Research has determined that the prevention of alcohol-exposed pregnancies (AEP) must occur preconceptually, either by reducing alcohol intake in women planning pregnancy or at risk for becoming pregnant, or by preventing pregnancy in women drinking at risky levels. One such AEP prevention programme with non-pregnant American-Indian (AI) women is…

When questioned about illegal, mood-altering substance use, 15,743 high school students surveyed in the last three years with the "Independent School Health Check" said alcohol is most commonly used. For the 30 days prior to filling out the survey, 33.9 percent of the students reported drinking, and 24.2 percent reported binge drinking…

Examples of behavioral interventions that are efficacious in the research setting as well as practical and translatable to the "real-world" are critically needed as models for social work researchers and clinicians. This article presents the Changing High-Risk Alcohol Use and Improving Contraception Effectiveness Study (CHOICES)…

Background: Relative to youth in regular high schools, alternative high school (AHS) youth are at high risk for alcohol, tobacco, and other drug (ATOD) misuse. Prevention and cessation efforts are needed for this population. Methods: A systematic, exhaustive literature search was completed to identify ATOD misuse prevention and cessation research…

Research now suggests that the human brain is still maturing during adolescence. The developing brain may help explain why adolescents sometimes make decisions that are risky and can lead to safety or health concerns, including unique vulnerabilities to drug abuse. This article explores how this new science may be put to use in our prevention and…

Survey data on the problem of drug abuse in Russia show a high level of awareness of the issue among young people. To reduce the level of drug use in Russia, a comprehensive, focused, and coordinated program involving representatives of official state and social institutions, as well as institutions of civil society, is needed. Combining their…

We assessed the association between alcohol consumption and condom use during penetrative sexual assault acts perpetrated by young adult men. Men aged 21 to 35 who reported inconsistent condom use and heavy episodic drinking (N = 225) completed a questionnaire assessing their perpetration of sexual assault since the age of 15, their consumption of…

Objective: A pilot randomized clinical trial (RCT) examined effectiveness of HIV/STD Safer Sex Skills Building + Alcohol (SSB+A) intervention for women with Alcohol Use Disorders (AUDs) in a residential treatment setting. Method: After randomizing thirty-six women with AUDs and reporting having intercourse with a male partner in the past 180 days…

Although studies indicate school-based HIV/AIDS education programs effectively reduce risky behaviors, only 33 states and the District of Columbia in US mandate HIV/AIDS education. Ideally, school-based HIV/AIDS education should begin before puberty, or at the latest before first sexual intercourse. In 2011, 20% US states had fewer schools…