This research evaluation, involving young black males (14-22 years of age) from Washington, D.C. at high risk for heroin addiction, is designed to treat the effectiveness of an early outreach, ecologically oriented treatment program (ESA) that aims at helping novice heroin users control or eliminate their use of heroin and other antisocial behavior. The impact of the ESA model will be compared to services currently provided by the Roving Leader Program - a delinquent youth service agency of the D.C. government in operation since 1965. ESA will implement a comprehensive 26-week treatment program that seeks to counter the negative effects of socio-cultural conditions that are inconsistent with standards of healthy self development and the production of constructive social-personal goals in young adults. It is a treatment program in which the underlying assumption is that even in high crime areas where heroin and other narcotic drugs are readily available and used, an ecological setting can be identified in which youngsters can be put in touch with favorable role models, along with opportunities to identify with cultural values, healthy behavioral outlets, and positive attitudes toward society in general. Approximately 150 young black novice heroin users will be the recipients of the ESA treatment program developed by Family and Medical Counseling Services, Inc. An additional 150 young black novice heroin users will receive the services provided through the Roving Leader Program and serve as a control group. It is hypothesized that personal maladjustment and the incidence of drug usage and criminal behavior following treatment will be significantly lower among the experimental group than the control group. Statistical measures will be employed to determine relative effectiveness. In addition to this comparative treatment evaluation, it is anticipated that the cohort of 300 novice heroin abusers will ultimately serve as subjects in a prospective study of young black men at risk for heroin addiction.
