About the Conference
Research indicates that psychiatric disorders are frequently
comorbid with drug use disorders, and that some childhood psychopathological
conditions are associated with increased risk for drug abuse. This suggests
that treating psychiatric disorders in childhood may have implications
for reducing later risk for drug abuse and might serve as a potentially
effective drug abuse prevention approach for some children and adolescents.
However, this question has been little studied so far. Concerns also
exist about childhood mental health interventions that may increase
risk for subsequent drug abuse, as has been suggested by some regarding
stimulant medication. Research on the effectiveness of treating psychiatric
conditions associated with increased risk for drug abuse also holds
potential for adding to knowledge about etiologic pathways to drug abuse.
The chief aim of this meeting therefore was to lay the foundation for
studying whether childhood psychiatric interventions can serve both
as treatment for the childhood disorder and as a drug abuse prevention
strategy for those at high risk.
The conference was held on May 23-24, 2000, at the Hotel
Washington in Washington DC. Program Staff from the National Institute
on Drug Abuse, NIH, with participation of Staff from the National Institute
of Mental Health, organized and sponsored this meeting, which was attended
by approximately 125 researchers with background and interest potentially
to work on this new area of research. The goal of encouraging and facilitating
research on these questions was addressed in four sections. First, background
information was presented to review current knowledge about the epidemiology,
basic science, and developmental trajectories of early psychopathology
and later drug abuse. Second, a range of exemplar studies currently
underway were presented and discussed. Third, methodological challenges
to this type of research were reviewed, and fourth, presentations and
discussion about addressing practical and ethical barriers to implementing
such research.
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