Universal prevention for alcohol use disorders: 1940-2014.

Objective: Universal prevention programs are intended to prevent or delay the onset of alcohol use disorders in the general population. This article reviews research on universal prevention programs for alcohol use published over the last 75 years.

Method: A literature search of studies published since the inception of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs in 1940 revealed 66 manuscripts that addressed or reported the findings of universal prevention programs in that journal. Additional studies published elsewhere were also reviewed.

Results: Research on universal prevention programs can be divided into three eras: Identifying the need for prevention (1940-1970) and the first (1971-1990) and second (1991-2010) eras of universal prevention research.

Conclusions: In the past 75 years, the field of universal prevention for alcohol use disorders has evolved from nonexistent to mature, replicating and enhancing effective strategies and identifying and learning from ineffective ones. The future provides unique opportunities to develop sophisticated strategies to enhance the efficacy of universal prevention programs.