To help communities develop drug abuse prevention programs for children and adolescents, NIDA has published a new comprehensive set of Drug Abuse Prevention Research Dissemination and Applications (RDA) materials. The materials are designed for drug abuse prevention program administrators, policymakers, community activists, parents, teachers, and other individuals who have an interest in drug abuse and its prevention. The materials consist of a core set of three handbooks that are packaged together and three separate stand-alone resource books that can be ordered individually.

The Core Handbooks (PB97-209605)

Drug Abuse Prevention: What Works describes drug abuse risk and protective factors and the strategies that have proven effective in preventing drug abuse. Research has shown that a combination of approaches that focus simultaneously on different levels within the community - such as families, schools, or the community as a whole - is more effective than a single approach. This 91-page handbook provides guidelines for selecting these multicomponent prevention programs and tailoring these programs to particular communities.

Community Readiness for Drug Abuse Prevention: Issues, Tips, and Tools addresses the concept of community readiness for implementing drug abuse prevention programs. The 172-page handbook defines community readiness, describes the stages of readiness, and lists the factors associated with readiness. The handbook also discusses how to assess a community's stage of readiness and offers strategies for increasing community readiness.

Drug Abuse Prevention and Community Readiness: Training Facilitator's Manual is a 325-page handbook to be used by training facilitators for a 9-hour training session that discusses drug abuse prevention theory, strategies for prevention, and techniques for assessing and increasing community readiness. The training program is designed for flexibility, with five modules, each lasting 1 to 2 hours, that can be presented all in 1 day or in a series of meetings.

The Resource Manuals

The three stand-alone resource manuals provide examples of prevention programs developed through NIDA-funded research that prevention practitioners might consider implementing in their communities.

Drug Abuse Prevention for the General Population (PB98-113095) reviews prevention programs that target the entire population of a community. As an illustration of this strategy, the 125-page manual provides details on the Midwestern Prevention Project, or Project STAR (Students Taught Awareness and Resistance), a comprehensive, multicomponent prevention program designed to teach middle schoolers how to resist the influences that encourage substance abuse. The program consists of elements involving schools, parents, the mass media, and local policymakers.

Drug Abuse Prevention for At-Risk Groups (PB98-113103) discusses prevention programs that target at-risk subgroups of the population. As an example, the 136-page manual describes the Strengthening Families Program, designed for 6- to 10-year-old children of substance abusers.

Drug Abuse Prevention for At-Risk Individuals (PB98-124365) provides material on prevention programs that target adolescents who are at risk for dropping out of school and other problem behaviors. As an example, the 165-page manual discusses the Reconnecting Youth Program, which targets 9th to 12th grade at-risk students.

A limited number of free copies of the RDA materials are available from the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information, P.O. Box 2345, Rockville, MD 20847-2345; (800) 729-6686 or (301) 468-2600; TDD number: (800) 487-4889; fax: (301) 468-6433; e-mail: info@health.org.

Copies may be purchased at cost from the National Technical Information Service, 5285 Port Royal Rd., Springfield, VA 22161; (703) 487-4650; fax: (703) 321-8547. Include NTIS order numbers listed with the titles on this page. For rush service, which involves an additional charge, dial (800) 553-NTIS. The core handbooks cost $67 for the set. The General Population and At-Risk Groups Resource Manuals are $31 each;the At-Risk Individuals Manual is $35.