Drawing on Rutter (1987), the development of any underlying etiological model may guide the development of effective prevention efforts by identifying those risk and vulnerability factors in need of redress as well as those protective factors that may be bolstered. In addition, we recognize clear prevention implications in our approach to understanding the development of AUDs and SUDs within a developmental framework. Our primary goal was to outline a model allowing us to identify progression of an underlying risk process that is eventually evident as Negative Affect SUDs (i.e., the internalizing pathway, Figure 1). This conceptualization of how internalizing symptoms contribute to the development of Negative Affect SUDs, particularly in COAs, offers a way to identify a target population, period of development for intervention, and risk process ripe for preventive intervention.
