78 Family-Focused Substance Abuse Prevention: What Has Been Learned From Other Fields Karol L. Kumpfer, James F. Alexander, Lynn McDonald, and David L. Olds INTRODUCTION Families are the primary institution for raising children who are the future of any society. Family socialization processes are the primary predictors of children's behavior. The importance of family risk and protective processes in the development of drug abuse and dependency is acknowledged in most empirically tested, multicausal etiological models of substance use (Ary et al., in press; Brook et al. 1990; Kumpfer and Turner 1990/1991; Newcomb and Bentler 1989; Swaim et al. 1990). Because of the importance of strong families, more research-based, family-focused interventions are needed in addition to the popular school- and peer-focused interventions. With increasing breakdown of the family worldwide (Kumpfer 1996), the media, the general public, policymakers, and prevention researchers and practitioners are becoming more interested in supporting family-strengthening interventions. In addition, meta- analyses of prevention efforts with delinquent and drug-abusing youth suggest that the single most effective form of prevention involves working with the total family system. Interventions aimed at youth often have fewer lasting effects than family-focused prevention interventions. Meta-analytic studies suggest that the effect sizes for family interventions are among the largest of all interventions with high-risk and delinquent youth (Andrews et al. 1990; Gordon et al. 1988). Fear of drug-abusing and violent juveniles has resulted in many Americans curtailing their activities and living in fear. Politicians have responded quickly, but typically with less than effective, short- term solutions, such as increased funding for policing, supply reduction strategies, and incarceration. According to a Peter Hart Research poll, 47 percent of police chiefs want more efforts in substance abuse education, prevention, and treatment compared with