With this in mind the next step is to look at the leadership and team effectiveness in community coalitions for the prevention of alcohol and other drug abuse. According to the AOD which is the alcohol and drug abuse prevention services comprehensive community coalitions or partnerships are increasingly being developed in this country to coordinate and expand the AOD, while case study evidence suggests that some coalitions are effective, there is very little theory development or empirical research on factors contributing to successful coalitions.
A theoretical model of coalition team effectiveness hypothesizing that empowering styles of leadership increase member satisfaction and perceptions of team efficacy which ultimately increases team effectiveness. And this would ultimately produce more effective coalitions in combating the drug problems in our neighborhoods. (7) Again alcohol, tobacco, and other drug (ATOD) use have devastating effects on African American and Hispanic communities.
Large numbers of people smoke, drink alcohol, or use illicit drugs, and although recent data suggest that prevalence of ATOD use is declining, the numbers are still alarming. In 1994, more than 48 million people smoked, 110 million used alcohol, and 12 million had used an illicit drug. Much progress is needed to achieve the Healthy People 2000 objectives to reduce the use of these harmful substances and the associated health risks. (8) The difficulty of eliminating substance abuse and tobacco use is related to the complex, multiple factors that contribute to the behavior.
The traditional health promotion emphasis on changing the individual’s behavior to eradicate or reduce health problems has proved unsuccessful. The recent trend in health promotion evokes a socioecological understanding of ATOD use in which the locus for change is on the contextual factors that contribute to or enforce unhealthy behaviors, as well as on the individual. Drug and tobacco industries targeting youth, the willingness of health care providers to give prevention or treatment counseling, and economic deprivation can influence an individual’s decision to use substances.
Therefore, prevention programs must be comprehensive in scope to address the multiple factors at the individual, family, community, and national levels that promote ATOD use. (8) The urban coalitions have been described as state of the art in public health for complex problems such as substance abuse because they can plan and implement comprehensive multiple and pronged interventions. This advantage has made coalitions and partnerships an increasingly popular response to the ATOD crisis in the African American and Hispanic communities. (8)
Furthermore some attention should be focused on the prevention of ATOD. According to studies by the Dept. of Health and Human Services, effective prevention programs conclude that multiple strategies are required to affect ATOD use. The dept. reviewed several models for ATOD prevention and found that outstanding programs are comprehensive in scope: provide positive alternatives to unhealthy behaviors; develop life skills, educate significant people surrounding ATOD abusers (i. e. parents, teachers, and role models); and change social policy and community norms.
(8) In addition to that there is also an Afrocentric Perspective toward prevention for the African American community. In the past, many prevention efforts targeting African Americans have failed to take into account the cultural context of ATOD use. Consequently, the interventions have been inappropriate, and the results discouraging (Bouie, 1993). To correct this myopic prevention planning, Bouie calls for an Afrocentric perspective as the foundation for substance abuse programs. Bouie posits,
“Given the hostile environment in which they exist, it is critical to the survival and development of African Americans that we view alcohol and other drug abuse as a function of this experience in an oppressive environment. The Afrocentric perspective provides a guidepost for understanding alcohol and other drug abuse in the African American community, not in terms of the chemical, but in terms of the forces that initiate and perpetuate an individual’s physical or psychological need to use that chemical. ” (8)
Social injustice, social inconsistency, and the resulting personal impotence contribute to a sense of alienation that supports dysfunctional behavior including ATOD use. The roles of oppression, economic deprivation, racism, and other external stressors related to the African American experience must be acknowledged and dealt with in substance abuse prevention and control programs. Thus, the Afrocentric perspective commands that prevention efforts address the social ecology of substance abuse and not just the behavior of the addict. (8)