Recent studies suggest that while prevention of adolescent alcohol use is very difficult, prevention of problem drinking or alcohol misuse may be possible. Some experts have advocated targeting resources at preventing serious substance use rather than use per se. But developing effective interventions for curbing problematic use first requires understanding the epidemiology of adolescent alcohol misuse, the factors that put adolescents at risk or protect them from alcohol misuse, and the impact of alcohol use and misuse on their lives. This study seeks to provide information that will: 1) help identify youngsters at high risk of harming themselves or others because of their drinking, and 2) help inform strategies to prevent this from happening. The study's specific aims are: To examine the relationship among different indicators of adolescent alcohol use and misuse (high risk drinking, drinking that results in negative consequences, and drinking characterized by high frequency and/or quantity). To characterize the nature and extent of different patterns of alcohol use and misuse in a large and diverse sample of West coast adolescents (over the six year period from grade 7 to grade 12). To identify risk and protective factors for different forms of alcohol misuse. To examine the effects of alcohol use and misuse on emotional well- being, deviance, and school problems. This three-year effort will involve a secondary analysis of data originally gathered for evaluating Project ALERT, an experimental drug prevention program. Funding for that test ends this year. Because the longitudinal data base tracks over 4,000 adolescents from grade 1 through grade 12 at 30 schools in California and Oregon, it offers a rare opportunity to trace patterns and predictors of problematic use throughout the junior and senior high years.
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