DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION 



AND WELFARE 



ALCOHOL, DRUG ABUSE, AND MENTAL HEALTH ADMINISTRATION 



Submitted by Francis N. Waldrop, M. D.. Deputy Administrator, ADAM HA 



NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH 



Submitted by Donald S. Fredricl<son, M. D., Director, NIH 



NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION 



Submitted by Dr. John M. Mays, Science Adviser, NIE 



ALCOHOL, DRUG ABUSE, AND MENTAL HEALTH ADMINISTRATION 



ADAMHA'S Mission 



The Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health 

 Administration (ADAMHA) is the lead Federal 

 agency in the national effort to curtail the prob- 

 lems of alcohol abuse and alcoholism, drug abuse, 

 and mental and emotional illness. Since 1974, 

 when it was given the statutory authority, 

 ADAMHA has administered the Federal programs 

 adopted by Congress to help combat these prob- 

 lems. The programs are carried out by the agen- 

 cy's three Institutes : The National Institute on 

 Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), the 

 National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), and 

 the National Institute on Mental Health (NIMH). 

 Though ADAMHA is young as an agency, the 

 theme of many programs it administers dates back 

 to 1947, when NIMH began funding basic and 

 applied research. Both NIAAA and NIDA have 

 their historical roots in NIMH. ADAMHA fulfills 

 its mission through the administration of research, 

 treatment, prevention, and training programs. The 

 research program is implemented primarily 

 through the grants mechanism and encompasses 

 both basic and applied research in the biomedical 

 and behavioral sciences as they pertain to alcohol- 

 ism, drug abuse, and mental health and illness. 



Through its research programs each Institute 

 fulfills its mission by: (1) The development of sci- 

 entific knowledge and methodology directed to- 

 ward understanding the factors involved in the 

 problem — for the individual and for society; (2) 



88 HEALTH, EDUCATION AND WELFARE 



the application of research principles, methods, 

 and techniques to assess and demonstrate the util- 

 ity of such knowledge for treatment, prevention, 

 and education; and (3) the development of person- 

 nel for research, treatment, and prevention in its 

 areas of responsibility. 



Definition of Basic Research 



Basic research is scientific study directed to- 

 ward a fuller understanding of the mechanisms 

 and processes underlying the subject of the re- 

 search. For NIAAA, the subject is alcoholism, 

 and the definition encompasses its etiology as well 

 as the medical and social consequences of alco- 

 holism and alcohol abuse. For NIDA, the subject 

 is drug abuse, and the definition of basic research 

 encompasses studies that may be chemical, bio- 

 logical, behavioral, or psychosocial in nature. 

 Similarly, for NIMH, the subject of interest is 

 behavior, and the research encompasses biochem- 

 ical, physiological, social, and psychological pro- 

 cesses underlying the behavior observed in mental 

 health and illness. The research in each of the 

 three Institutes makes use of animals as well as 

 human subjects and is conducted in both laborato- 

 ry and field settings. 



