ABSTRACT
Most of the school- and community-based substance abuse prevention programs discussed in previous chapters target youngsters who are at relatively low risk for tobacco, alcohol, or other drug use. Most adolescents are abstainers or limited recreational users. There are, however, a sizeable number of youngsters biologically, psychologically and environmentally at high risk for substance abuse. For example, any child of an alcoholic is at higher risk for alcoholism than a child of a non-alcoholic. Youngsters living in economic deprivation and/or in crime and violence prone neighborhoods, and having dysfunctional families have a greater risk of substance abuse than those who do not. A long list of behavioral and psychological factors associated with high risk for substance abuse can also be assembled, including such things as poor school performance and absenteeism and high tolerance for deviant or impulsive behaviors. Dryfoos (1990) estimates that seven million, or 25 percent, of youngsters between the ages of ten and seventeen in the United States today are at high risk for becoming substance abusers.
