Environmental Approaches to Prevention:
Studies of Communities and Alcohol Problems

In its 26th year of operation, the Prevention Research Center (PRC) has been funded once again by the US National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism as an Alcohol Research Center.  This new Center grant includes three interrelated projects designed to enhance our understanding of the role that social and physical environments play in determining how people use alcohol and the kinds of problems they experience related to alcohol.

Communities all across the country are increasingly aware of the health and social problems related to alcohol use. Alcohol related traffic crashes, of course, are a visible and well-known consequence of the risky or inappropriate use of alcohol. Other alcohol problems also have costly and sometimes tragic consequences, including other accidental injuries, child abuse and neglect, violence, risky sexual behavior, addiction, and chronic disease.  The emphasis of most PRC projects is on the reduction of alcohol-related problems through changing social environments rather than through working with individuals who have or who may develop alcohol-related problems.

In its new five-year grant, PRC will carry out research in 50 California communities.  The projects will focus on three important topics:

1. How local laws, policies and enforcement affect underage drinking
2. How the number and location of bars and restaurants that serve alcohol affect drinking and driving
3. How the number and location of places that sell alcohol, including both bars and restaurants and stores, affect the number of children who are abused or neglected by their parents.

Each of these projects focuses on a serious social problem with potentially tragic consequences.  Each of these projects will enhance our understanding of how these problems can be prevented.  Each of these projects is designed ultimately to provide local communities with the knowledge and tools to create healthier environments for its residents. 

These new projects are designed to deepen our understanding of the mechanisms by which community environments affect alcohol consumption and related problems.  By having a more detailed grasp of why and how certain community characteristics affect drinking and affect the kinds of problems resulting from drinking, policy makers can do a better job of making community environments healthier – without imposing undue burdens on businesses or residents.