This study was designed to address the question: Can participation in an efficacious preventive intervention ameliorate the risk that a genetic vulnerability factor is hypothesized to confer for increases in risk behaviors across preadolescence? The results demonstrate the potential of efficacious prevention programs to protect youth, particularly those who are at risk for involvement, from engaging in risk behaviors that undermine their health and development. The results further demonstrate the importance of enhancing protective parenting and youth self-regulatory processes during a developmental period when some youth initiate and escalate health-compromising behaviors. As protective genes are identified, future research should examine the potential for participation in preventive interventions to compensate for the absence of those genes. Finally, the findings indicate the importance of inoculating youth with culturally and racially specific protective factors. To move this effort forward, a new generation of research is needed that will identify prevention programs that offer youth protection against genetic and environmental risk factors.
