Most of the substance abuse prevention work we do today is based on the Social Development Strategy developed by Richard Catalano and David Hawkins, co-founders of the UW Social Development Research Group. The most recent edition of Prevention Action, an online publication reporting internationally on programs for improving children's health and development, includes a story about Dr. Catalano and the research he started in the 1970's.
When they first started working together . . . Catalano and Hawkins were both convinced that a lot more could be done to prevent drug-use and delinquency occurring in the first place, before it exacted its toll on young people’s social development, education and subsequent employment.
Catalano says: “We wanted to shift services from rehabilitation to habilitation; rather than fixing established problems we wanted to equip children with the skills and resources so that they don’t engage in drugs and delinquency behavior in the first place, and to help create family, school and community environments that support this.”
The full article, along with other prevention-related articles, may be read on the Prevention Action website.
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