Risk Factors for Adolescent Drug Use in the United States and Colombia

描述（由申请人提供）：在过去十年中，哥伦比亚共和国经历了从一个传统的毒品出口国到一个日益增长的毒品消费国的巨大转变。最近的研究表明，哥伦比亚青少年的药物使用率不断上升，女性和城市青年的药物使用率明显上升（P¿rez G¿mez & Scoppetta, 2009）。在所有南美国家中，哥伦比亚青年酗酒和吸毒的流行率是最高的（哥伦比亚国家统计局，2009年），哥伦比亚青少年酗酒和吸毒的流行率接近或超过欧洲和美国青少年（P¿rez-G¿mez & Scoppetta， 2009年）。近年来，哥伦比亚青少年犯罪、犯罪和帮派成员的比例与青少年吸毒的升级密切相关（2009年国家警察年度报告）。这些发现促使人们呼吁紧急制定和实施预防方案、政策和交付系统，以应对哥伦比亚青年日益严重的社会和健康相关问题。作为这一呼吁的一部分，哥伦比亚社会保护和公共卫生部目前正在制定一项国家药物滥用预防战略，该战略采用科学的、循证的方法来制定、调整和实施哥伦比亚美国制定的预防方案和战略。该部已确定社区护理（CTC； Hawkins等人，2002年）作为预防服务提供系统，以协调哥伦比亚社区的预防举措。以科学为基础的预防方法，例如儿童疾病预防控制，是基于对作为具体预防干预和规划目标的风险和保护因素的有效流行病学评估。此外，如果要使预防工作有效、可持续并切合社区的具体需要，向当地利益攸关方传播有关社区风险和保护的信息也同样重要。本项目通过结合哥伦比亚和美国现有的、独立的、大规模的青少年药物使用研究数据，调查风险和保护因素的可比措施的有效性和传播，并评估两国之间这些措施的心理测量等效性。在某种程度上，青少年吸毒的风险和保护因素的作用是相似的

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Within the past decade, the Republic of Colombia has undergone a dramatic transformation from a traditionally drug-exporting country to an increasingly drug-consuming country. Recent research has demonstrated escalating rates of substance use by Colombian adolescents, with marked increases among female and urban youth (P¿rez G¿mez & Scoppetta, 2009). Colombian youth now have among the highest prevalence rates of alcohol and drug use of all South American countries (DNE, 2009), with prevalence rates of alcohol and drug use among Colombian adolescents approaching or exceeding those of European and U.S. adolescents (P¿rez-G¿mez & Scoppetta, 2009). Recent rates of juvenile crime, delinquency, and gang membership in Colombia have followed closely the escalation of adolescent drug use (National Police Annual Report, 2009). These findings have prompted a call for the urgent development and implementation of prevention programs, policies, and delivery systems to combat these growing social and health related problems for Colombian youth. As part of this call, the Colombian Ministry for Social Protection and Public Health is currently developing a National Drug Abuse Prevention Strategy, which is taking a scientific, evidence-based approach to developing, adapting, and implementing prevention programs and strategies developed in Colombia the U.S. The Ministry has identified Communities That Care (CTC; Hawkins et al., 2002) as the prevention service delivery system to coordinate prevention initiatives in Colombian communities. A science-based approach to prevention, such as with CTC, is predicated on valid epidemiologic assessment of risk and protective factors that serve as targets for specific preventive interventions and programming. Moreover, the need to disseminate information on community risk and protection to local stakeholders is equally as important if prevention efforts are to be effective, sustainable, and relevant to the specific needs of the community. This project investigates the validity and dissemination of comparable measures of risk and protective factors by combining data from existing, independent, large-scale research studies of adolescent drug use in Colombia and the U.S., and assessing the psychometric equivalency of these measures between the two countries. To the extent that risk and protective factors for adolescent drug use operate similarly between the two countries, the applicability of prevention programs and policies that target these risk and protective factors in U.S. and Colombian youth populations is strengthened. We additionally take a community-based participatory approach in assessing the interpretability, utility, validity, and sustainability of risk and protective factor data in Colombia by sharing thee data in a "user-friendly" format with community leaders and key stakeholders, and obtaining feedback on how to improve the structure and dissemination of these data for improved local decision making of prevention initiatives. This project takes advantage of a timely opportunity to collaboratively develop and share scientific knowledge for the prevention of adolescent drug use in both Colombian and U.S. youth populations.