Youth Community Partnerships For Adolescent Alcohol Prevention

This forward-thinking reference spotlights an expansive and inclusive community model for youth alcohol prevention as opposed to traditional individual and school-based group approaches. Focusing on a long-term intervention in a Southwestern border town, it documents the development of critical consciousness in an affected community, and emphasizes young people as crucial drivers of change in their environment. The book’s Community Readiness Model provides vital context for successful coalition building between youth, families, and community entities (e.g., schools, civic leaders, police) in reducing alcohol risk factors and promoting healthier choices. Given the severity and prevalence of youth alcohol use, this case study offers a viable blueprint for large-scale engagement in prevention. Among the featured topics: Integrating research into prevention strategies using participatory action research. Breaking down silos between community-based organizations: coalition development. Adult perspectives on nurturing youth leadership and coalition participation. Youth perspectives on youth power as the source of community dev elopment. Coalition as conclusion: tips on creating a functioning coalition. Community transformational resilience for adolescent alcohol prevention. Youth-Community Partnerships for Adolescent Alcohol Prevention is both practical and inspiring reading for researchers and other mental health professionals in psychology, social work, and public health who work with adolescents, communities, and civic engagement.

"Drug Abuse Prevention: A School and Community Partnership, Third Edition", takes an evidence-based approach to teach students the important concepts and skills needed to design effective drug prevention programs. Covering more than just the facts, this text provides a background of drug use and abuse and presents the principles and skills of prevention, with particular focus on adolescents and school settings. It reinforces the importance of schools forming community partnerships with key institutions and the application of policy tools to enhance the impact of education alone. -- From publisher's description.

Mental and Behavioral Health of Immigrants in the United States reviews research on immigrant mental health, acculturation, and multicultural psychology. The book is divided into three sections: Section A addresses the geographic and social context of immigration, including how parents and children navigate the acculturation process, how different cultural orientations affect behavior, and research methods on acculturation. Sections B and C focus on mental health issues common to Latinx, Asian, and Arab/Middle Eastern immigrants, and then more broadly across immigrant groups. Included here are a focus on depression, anxiety, and somatization, as well as alcohol abuse, insomnia, and issues for LGBTQ+ individuals. Pre- and post-migration stressors are discussed, as well as the effects of prejudice and bias, the mental health effects of religion and spirituality, and managing the demands of both work and family. Contributors from psychology, education, and social work provide different perspectives and identify opportunities for future research. Summarizes research on mental health issues common to immigrants Identifies prevalence of mental disorders among ethnic minorities in the United States Examines the impact of group-based discrimination on mental health Explores the impact of acculturation on mental health Reviews mental health issues specific to Latinx, Asian, and Middle Eastern immigrants Covers alcohol abuse, sleep, and other disorders across immigrant groups

Drawing on participatory action research conducted with students, parents, families, and school staff in a Southwest community in the United States, this volume contests the interpretation of the achievement gap for students of Mexican descent in the American education system and highlights asset-based approaches that can facilitate students’ academic success. By presenting the Asset-Based Bicultural Continuum Model (ABC) and demonstrating the applications in a variety of family, school, and community-based initiatives, this volume demonstrates how community and cultural wealth can be harnessed to increase educational opportunities for Latino students. The ABC model offers new strategies which capitalize on the bicultural and linguistic assets rooted in local communities and offers place-based strategies driven by communities themselves in order to be tailored to students’ strengths. The text makes a significant contribution to understanding the social ecology of Latinx students’ experiences and offers a new direction for effective and evidence-based academic and health programs across the United States. This book will be a valuable resource for researchers and academics with an interest in the sociology of education, multicultural education, urban education, and bilingual education. It will be of particular interest to those with a focus on Hispanic and Latino studies.

Alcohol use by young people is extremely dangerous - both to themselves and society at large. Underage alcohol use is associated with traffic fatalities, violence, unsafe sex, suicide, educational failure, and other problem behaviors that diminish the prospects of future success, as well as health risks â€" and the earlier teens start drinking, the greater the danger. Despite these serious concerns, the media continues to make drinking look attractive to youth, and it remains possible and even easy for teenagers to get access to alcohol. Why is this dangerous behavior so pervasive? What can be done to prevent it? What will work and who is responsible for making sure it happens? Reducing Underage Drinking addresses these questions and proposes a new way to combat underage alcohol use. It explores the ways in which may different individuals and groups contribute to the problem and how they can be enlisted to prevent it. Reducing Underage Drinking will serve as both a game plan and a call to arms for anyone with an investment in youth health and safety.

This is one of the only texts available that offers a holistic approach to planning and implementing drug abuse prevention.

Believing that drug education should be framed within the context of comprehensive health education, the authors present classroom strategies for education professionals and explore the theoretical backgrounds for the strategies. After a look at legal and illegal drugs and their effects, the authors explore possible programs and assess current public policy. A companion Web site provides exercises related to the topics treated in each chapter.