Prevention and treatment of alcohol-related problems: Research opportunities. Committee to identify research opportunities in the prevention and treatment of alcohol-related problems

This article summarizes the major themes, conclusions and recommendations of a 2-year study conducted for the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism by the Institute of Medicine. The study is devoted to the identification of research opportunities that will improve knowledge about the prevention and treatment of alcohol problems. In the first part of the report, the study committee examines the social and personal aspects of alcohol-related problems toward which prevention efforts are directed; delineates the features of a public health orientation that it deems most appropriate for the prevention task; discusses individual vulnerability to alcohol misuse; and reviews genetic, developmental and social learning perspectives on prevention. In the second part of the report, which is devoted to treatment research, the committee considers the underlying philosophical issues as well as the formidable methodological problems in conducting treatment research. Central to this is a broad review of promising treatment modalities and the research needed for developing effective patient-treatment matching schemes. In the final part of the report, the committee concludes that cooperative multisite research efforts are indispensable to the implementation of the research directions it recommends.