Prevention of Substance Use

Zili Sloboda, Sc.D., President, Applied Prevention Science, Inc. was trained in medical sociology at New York University and in mental health and epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health. The majority of her research has been related to the delivery of health-related services to youth and adults and epidemiology. She was a founder of the Society for Prevention Research (SPR) in both the United States and Europe and is well-published in the area of drug abuse epidemiology and substance use prevention. Her major books include the Handbook of Drug Abuse Prevention, the Epidemiology of Drug Abuse, and, Defining Prevention Science. She has a long standing commitment to the dissemination of evidence-based programming and the advancement of Translation I and II research through work with SPR and with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime to develop international standards for substance use prevention based on research evidence. Her current work is focused on the international dissemination of the Universal Prevention Curriculum developed to build the capacity of prevention professionals worldwide to implement evidence-based prevention interventions and policies in their communities. Hanno Petras, Ph.D., is a Principal Researcher at AIR where he is responsible for developing and leading rigorous research proposals in the areas of youth violence, sexual violence perpetration, substance abuse, suicide as well as to evaluate the effectiveness of research- and practice-based prevention intervention programs in school and community settings. He has over 20 years of experience designing and conducting research and evaluation of preventive interventions aimed at minimizing unhealthy and risky outcomes over the life course. His work has documented the continued vulnerability of individuals over the life course and how preventive interventions can alleviate such vulnerabilities. He has published extensively on prevention interventions related to aggressive/disruptive behavior in the classroom, mental health, tobacco use, violence against women, and HIV risk factors related to substance use. He recently co-edited together with Dr. Zili Sloboda the first book in the series entitled Advances in Prevention Science that focuses on defining prevention science, which was published by Springer Publications.

Part 1:  Introduction to Substance Use.- Substance Use and the Brain Across the Lifespan.- Epidemiology of Substance Use Internationally.- An Integrative Perspective on the Etiology of Substance Use       .- Genetics and Epigenetics of Substance Use.- Progression of Substance Use to Abuse and Substance Use Disorders.- The Tobacco Prevention Experience-A Model for Substance Use Prevention?.- Alcohol Marketing and Promotion.- Part 2:  Effective Prevention Interventions and Strategies for Substance Use.- Family Processes and Evidence-Based Prevention Interventions.- The School: A Setting for Evidence-Based Prevention.- Policy Interventions:  Intended and Unintended Influences on Substance Use.- Brief Interventions as Evidence-Based Prevention Strategies.- ATOD Prevention in Diverse Communities-Research and Receptivity.- Part 3:  Methodological Challenges.- Qualitative Methods in the study of Psychoactive Substance Use.- Monitoring Trends-Use of Local Data.- The Importance of Mediational Analysis.- Sub-Group Analysis: "What Works Best For Whom and Why?".- Adaptive Intervention Designs in Substance Use Prevention.- Ethical Issues in Substance Use Prevention Research.- Part 4:  Emerging Areas.- Creating Persuasive Substance Use Prevention Messages: The EQUIP Model.- Use of Media and Social Media in the Prevention of Substance Use.- A Role for Mindfulness and Mindfulness Training in Substance Use Prevention.- Part 5:  Future Challenges.- Microtrials and Idiographic Research.- Dissemination of Evidence-Based Prevention Interventions and Policies.- Supporting Prevention Science and Prevention Research Internationally.- The Prevention Specialist Workforce.- Prevention Systems: Structure and challenges-Europe as an Example.