Class Descriptions

Research-Informed Practices to Prevent Substance Abuse in Racial and Ethnic Minority Adolescents

SW618

Course Description

Substance abuse represents a major public health concern facing American’s youth. Although
all adolescents are directly or indirectly impacted by substance abuse, racial and ethnic minority
youth are disproportionately impacted. Social workers play a key role in health promotion and
disease prevention, including prevention, intervention and rehabilitation of substance abuse
among racial and ethnic minority adolescents in urban settings. This course will draw from
multiple disciplines, including social work, epidemiology, public health, psychology, policy and
couple and family therapy, to introduce students to theory and knowledge on substance abuse
to inform social work practice with racial and ethnic minority adolescents in urban settings.
This course will be guided by models, and the theoretical frameworks which inform them, that
have been shown to be efficacious or effective in prevention, intervention, and rehabilitation
of substance abuse in adolescents. Therefore, students will be introduced to research-informed
substance abuse practices among racial and ethnic minority urban adolescents. For the purposes
of this course, substance abuse will include both licit and illicit substances. Students will be
asked to demonstrate the ways in which to apply research-informed theory and knowledge in
practice settings with racial and ethnic minority urban adolescents.

Objectives

1. Better understand substance abuse health disparities among racial and ethnic minority
adolescents.
2. Develop knowledge with respect to national prevention efforts, including the National
Prevention Strategy, aimed at achieving health equity and narrowing and ultimately eliminating
substance abuse health disparities.
3. Develop knowledge about epidemiologic methodology to: (1) identify substance use and abuse
patterns among racial and ethnic minority adolescents, and (2) work toward understanding
antecedents and etiology of substance abuse in racial and ethnic minority adolescents.
4. Develop a comprehensive understanding of theoretical frameworks to help guide and inform
the development of substance abuse prevention, intervention, and rehabilitation programs.
5. Develop knowledge with respect to efficacious and effective substance abuse prevention,
intervention, and rehabilitation models for racial and ethnic minority adolescents.
6. Identify pathways and mechanisms by which change occurs with regard to substance abuse
prevention, intervention, and rehabilitation models.
7. Apply theoretical and practical information about research-informed models to relevant
practice situations.