Intervening in Early Childhood to Prevent Drug Abuse

In 1997 the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) published the first edition of Preventing Drug Use among Children and Adolescents:  A Research-Based Guide.  The Guide introduced the concept of “research-based prevention” and presented prevention principles derived from research on effective drug abuse interventions.  The purpose of the Guide was to aid prevention planners and practitioners in the use of evidence-based interventions for the promotion of healthy development through preventing initiation and progression of drug abuse and associated problem behaviors among children and adolescents in communities across the country.  The second edition was published in 2003 and vastly extended this knowledge base.  It is now ten years since the publication of the second edition and there has been a proliferation of knowledge from NIDA sponsored research on drug abuse prevention.  At this time, NIDA has supported research on early childhood interventions for over 30 years; in recent years the research has matured to the point that the following question can be addressed: “Does intervening in early childhood prevent later drug abuse?  The apparent answer is yes; intervening in early childhood can reduce risk for and/or prevent drug abuse later in development.  In fact, NIDA supported prevention research has made great progress in identifying early childhood interventions that successfully address proximal risk factors for drug abuse and other problems.  A review of this research has led to the identification of principles of prevention for early childhood interventions.  Specifically, the review focused on prevention research targeting the prenatal (from conception through birth), infancy and toddlerhood (birth to 3 years), preschool (ages 3 through 5 years), and transition to school (ages 6 through 8 years) periods.  The result is an addendum to previous guides titled Preventing Drug Abuse though Early Childhood Interventions:  A Research-Based Guide for Parents, Educators, and Community Leaders.  This publication reviews and synthesizes NIDA funded research using risk and protective factor and life-course developmental perspectives.

The purpose of this roundtable discussion is: 1) to present the emerging principles regarding early childhood interventions; 2) discuss the perspectives used to explain these principles; and 3) to solicit feedback on the principles from panelists and audience members.  Discussants will be provided with the document prior to the meeting; if possible the document will be available to audience members.  The discussion will follow the outline of the Guide, with commentary on each chapter including accuracy of interpretation of the research findings and its relevance for the field.