There is a growing emphasis upon the preventive mental health model as the most effective approach to drug abuse education and prevention. This study provides data on the appropriateness of this model by comparing a sample of non-opiate drug abusers (n = 100) with a sample of psychiatric patients (n = 100), matched for age, from a community mental health center. Data indicate that non-opiate drug abusers and psychiatric patients are similar, although the drug abuse sample shows small, but consistent evidence of greater psychosocial adjustment problems. The results clearly support greater emphasis upon the preventive mental health approach.
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