The Tri-Ethnic Center for Prevention Research is a national resource for the study of drug abuse prevention among minority youth. It places a special emphasis on the two largest western minority groups -- American Indians and Mexican-Americans. The Center tracks the rates of drug use and of drug-related problems such as delinquency, dropout, violence and victimization in these two groups. Center research compares the etiology of drug use across ethnic minority groups, exploring how social, psychological and cultural characteristics relate to drug use, delinquency and dropout, with an emphasis on the role played by ethnicity and cultural identification in etiology and prevention. Studies include cross sectional analyses of the correlates of drug use as well as longitudinal studies examining how risk and resiliency factors along with ethnicity and cultural identification interact to form drug using and non-drug using peer social networks. In addition to studies of the etiology of drug use, the Center tests prevention programs aimed at reducing drug use among minority youth. The Center has demonstrated that inhalant use by very young children is a particular problem for American Indian and Mexican- American youth. The Center will test a prevention program spanning the 4th through 7th grades to reduce inhalant use by young Mexican-American and American Indian children. In the 4th and 5th grades, the prevention program increases resiliency and involves parents and children in protecting against household poisons, including solvents. In the 6th and 7th grades, the program focuses more directly on inhalant abuse. The Center also promotes and enhances the ability of other research scientists to engage in cross-cultural research through preparing doctoral and postdoctoral minority students for careers in drug abuse research and through research forums, collaborative research, and visiting scholars.
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