Psychoenvironmental Forces in Substance Abuse Prevention

Psychological vulnerabilities and environment influences are the most powerful forces shaping the behavior and choices of students to use harmful substances. This book employs computer-assisted Associative Group Analysis technology of comparative imaging and cognitive mapping to identify these factors and offers new perspectives for more comprehensive risk assessments and effective prevention.

Introduction: Tracing Dispositions Affecting the Use of Harmful Substances.- The Assessment of Internal Dispositions Through Comparative Imaging.- Alcohol, Drugs: Images that Help to Identify Sources of Differences between Use and Non-use.- Additional Images (Friends, Fun) Useful in Tracing Psychological Dispositions to Use Alcohol and Drugs.- The System.- The Assessment of Vulnerability/Resistance Through Cognitive Mapping.- The Measurement of Vulnerability/Resistance.- Vulnerability and Resistance.- Criterion and Construct Validation of the Vulnerability/Resistance Measure.- Tracing the Effects of Background and Lifestyle on the Use of Harmful Substances.- Background and Group Membership.- Lifestyles Affecting Vulnerability to Substance Abuse.- Academic Performance and Lifestyles that Build Resistance.- Tracing Environmental Influences Cultural and Social.- Cultural Factors in Substance Abuse.- Acculturation-Its Impact on Substance Abuse.- The Phantom Power of Environmental Influences.- Program Development and Culturally Adapted Training.- Applications: Diagnostics, Program Planning, and Evaluation.- An Early Warning System.- Planning and Targeting Programs Based on Imaging and Mapping.- Program Evaluation, Feedback by Measuring Vulnerability/Resistance.- The Latest Developments and Future Perspectives.- Some of the Well-known Approaches to Drug Prevention.- The Latest Scientific Developments Open a Window on Propensities.- Comprehensive Prevention.