Guide to Effective Programs
for Children and Youth

Preparing for the Drug Free Years

OVERVIEW

Preparing for the Drug Free Years (PDFY) is a skills training program designed to decrease a child’s likelihood of using drugs and alcohol. The program uses a multimedia approach to teach parents how to interact effectively with their children. PDFY consists of five workshops that emphasize child, parent and family practices that help discourage and prevent adolescent substance use. Three different evaluations of PDFY are presented here. Overall, the program had a significant impact promoting parents’ communication skills and decreasing negative interactions among parents and children, as well as decreasing growth in adolescent alcohol use.

DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM

Target population: Parents of children ages 8-14

Preparing for the Drug Free Years strives to reduce adolescent substance use by altering the ways in which families interact and communicate regarding risky behaviors. PDFY consists of five 2-hour sessions for parents, one of which children also attend. Each session is dedicated to improving a certain skill. The first session provides an overview of the program and focuses on risk factors that lead to substance use among adolescents. Session two introduces potential family policies and expectations for children. Children attend the third session with their parents. In this session, peer resistance and avoidance skills are taught. Session four stresses conflict management and expressing feelings in a constructive manner. Finally, the fifth session covers child and family interactions as well as parents’ rewards and feedback for children’s behavior. Each session concludes with a homework assignment that is to be completed by the family.

Session leaders are selected based on previous experience and the ability to conduct group activities. Three months before the program begins, leaders receive three days of training. Leaders also receive a one-day booster session two weeks before PDFY begins. Leaders are organized in teams of two to conduct the PDFY program sessions. Those participating in Preparing for the Drug Free Years are divided into sections so that the workshops are not too large.

EVALUATION(S) OF PROGRAM

Rueter, M., Conger, R., & Ramisetty-Mikler, S. (1999). Assessing the benefits of a parenting skills training program: A theoretical approach to predicting direct and moderating effects. Family Relations, 48(1), 67-77.

Evaluated population: Six economically disadvantaged school districts in a Midwestern state were identified to participate in the study.

Approach: PDFY sent a letter and brochure explaining the program to those families with 6^th or 7^th graders, as identified by the schools. Of the 387 eligible families, 220 agreed to participate in the program and 209 completed the pretest assessment.

Two-parent families made up 89.5 percent of the families in the study. Only 3.0 percent of the couples were unmarried at the time the evaluation took place. Remaining parents were divorced, separated or widowed. The median age for mothers was 39 while fathers reported a slightly older median age of 41. The average family had 2 or 3 children and reported a median family per capita income of approximately $6,800 per family member.

Families were randomly assigned to either a treatment condition (n=103) or a control condition (n=106). Families in the control group were put on a wait list and could receive the PDFY program after the evaluation was completed. The initial pretest assessment took place before families were assigned to conditions and was completed with the help of home visitors. During the assessment, participating family members completed questionnaires and checklists identifying family practices and conflicts. Afterwards, they took part in family tasks which measured general family interactions and problem-solving behaviors. Home visits lasted approximately 2 ½ to 3 hours. After the visit was completed, participants were given a second questionnaire to fill out and a postage-paid envelope in which they could send it back.

In addition to the home visits, parents filled out self-reports identifying financial concerns and marital difficulties. Family members received $10/hour for their time completing the entire assessment. Posttest assessments were conducted in a similar manner and took place within 4 ½ months after the program was completed. Instead of completing a second questionnaire, however, participants received a follow-up phone interview.

Trained observers who were unaware of program assignment assessed the videos. Observers received 200 hours of training initially and then 4 hours per week in additional training. Videos, questionnaires, and reports were evaluated measuring parental communication, parental negativity and quality of the parent-child relationship.

Results: No statistically significant differences between conditions were reported at pretest. Of the original 209 families, 82.5 percent (n=85) of the treatment group and 84.9 percent (n=90) of the control group completed the posttest assessment. Fathers who participated in the PDFY program reported significantly better outcomes for paternal communication skills, parent-child relationship quality and parental negativity than the control group. In contrast, mothers in the PDFY program reported significantly better outcomes only for maternal communication skills.

The evaluation also considered the effect that marital difficulties and financial concerns had on the success of the program. Marital difficulties did not affect paternal outcomes but did affect the parent-child relationship and communication skills for mothers. Furthermore, fathers with high pretest skills in communication showed greater gains than their counterparts. Mothers, however, were affected differently. Those mothers who reported a low quality parent-child relationship initially showed greater program benefits than those who began with a higher quality relationship.

Finally, financial concerns had a different effect on mothers than fathers in the PDFY program. Mothers’ outcomes were not affected by financial concerns; but communication skills and the parent-child relationship of fathers were negatively affected. Mothers with marital difficulties and fathers with financial concerns, therefore, represent those who benefited most from attending the PDFY program.

Park, J., Kosterman, R., Hawkins, J.D., Haggerty, K.P., Duncan, T.E., Duncan, S.C., & Spoth, R. (2000). Effects of the “Preparing for the Drug Free Years” curriculum on growth in alcohol use and risk for alcohol use in early adolescence. Prevention Science, 1(3). 125-138.

Evaluated population: The program identified 33 rural schools in 19 economically disadvantages counties in a Midwestern state.

Approach: The counties were selected according to size and school lunch eligibility. Of those 33 schools, 11 were randomly assigned to the control condition, 11 to the PDFY treatment group and 11 to a second intervention study which will not be discussed here. As in the previous evaluation, families were initially identified if they had a 6^th grader in one of the designated schools. The total number of eligible families in the PDFY treatment and control groups was 883. However, those families that agreed to participate in the study brought the total sample to 424 families (n=217 treatment, n=207 control). Families in the control group received four brochures in the mail on adolescent development and were put on the wait list for the PDFY program.

In the original sample of 424 families, 82 percent of the parents were married. Each family had, on average, three children and the average age of the target child was 11.3 years. The mean age of the parents was 36.9 for mothers and 39.6 for fathers. Almost all families were white. The median annual per capita income for a five person family was $37,500.

Data were collected at pretest, approximately two months before PDFY was implemented. Posttest data were collected nine months after program completion and follow-up data were collected 1, 2, and 3 ½ years later. Posttest data were completed for 85 percent (n=362) of the original sample. The 1, 2, and 3 ½ year follow-up assessments were completed by 73, 67, and 70 percent of the sample, respectively. Data were collected in the same manner as the previous evaluation with home visits, questionnaires and videotaped interaction tasks.

Conditions were considered statistically equal at pretest. Although attrition was significantly higher for the PDFY treatment group at posttest, this was not the case at all other data points. Evaluators report that attrition rates had no statistically significant effect on outcomes for either group.

Families were evaluated according to parents’ norms toward drug and alcohol use, family management skills, family conflict, refusal skills and alcohol use. Parents in the PDFY treatment group enhanced or maintained their norms against substance use significantly more than the control group. With regard to family management, the evaluation found only moderate improvement among the PDFY group. Additionally, the evaluation did not find any significant outcomes on measures of family conflict and refusal skills.

Results: Evaluators reported little change for both the control and treatment groups from pre to posttest on measures of alcohol use. Both groups reported substantial growth in use at the 1, 2, and 3 ½ year follow-ups. The PDFY group, however, reported significantly less growth in alcohol use than the control group by the 3 ½ year follow-up. Approximately 65 percent of control children and 52 percent of PDFY children reported initiating alcohol use during the course of the study, while 42 percent of control children and 32 percent of PDFY children reported being drunk. Although 40 percent of control children reported using alcohol in the past month, only 24 percent of their PDFY counterparts did so.

In general, PDFY directly decreased growth in alcohol use among children in the study. While the program significantly strengthened parental norms and helped maintain family management practices, it had no impact on refusal skills or family conflict.

Kosterman, R., Hawkins, D., Spoth, R., Haggerty, K. & Zhu, K. (1997). Effects of a preventive parent-training intervention on observed family interactions: Proximal outcomes from Preparing for the Drug Free Years. Journal of Community Psychology, 25(4), 337-352.

Evaluated population: Evaluators identified 6 school districts in economically disadvantaged Midwest counties.

Approach: Nine schools were selected to participate in the study: 3 elementary schools, 3 middle schools, 1 junior high school and 2 junior-senior high schools. A total of 387 families were identified by the schools as having a 6^th or 7^th grade student. All eligible families received a letter from PDFY explaining the program; 220 families (57%) agreed to participate and 209 completed the pretest assessment.

In the final sample of families, 94 percent of parents were married and had an average of 3 children. Mothers’ average age was 38.6 while fathers tended to be two years older. Most families were of European-American descent and had an average per capita income for a family of four of $26,800. Families were randomly assigned to either the PDFY treatment or control groups.

Pretest data were collected approximately two months prior to the first workshop. Posttest data were completed anywhere from two to nine weeks after the fifth and final session of PDFY. It is important to note that only parents who completed both the pre- and posttest assessments were included in analyses (n=174 mothers, n=157 fathers). Assessments were conducted as they were in the previous two evaluations using home visits, questionnaires and videotaped interaction tasks.

Results: The only differences found between the control and treatment groups at pretest were that the PDFY group had slightly fewer children and mothers with higher levels of education. Evaluators reported, however, that these pretest differences did not affect attrition rates.

This evaluation monitored proactive communication, negative parent-child interactions and quality of the parent-child relationship. Proactive communication includes the extent to which a parent is appropriately assertive, responsive and reasonable with the child. PDFY had a significant impact on improving proactive communication skills. Although it decreased negative interactions, the results were only significant for mothers. Finally, PDFY reported a moderate impact on the quality of the parent-child relationship; fathers in the treatment group reported significantly higher quality relationships than their control group counterparts.

SOURCES FOR MORE INFORMATION

Link to program curriculum: http://www.drp.org/prevention-programs/search-by-age/

References

Program categorized in this guide according to the following:

Evaluated participant ages: 6^th and 7^th grade / Program age ranges in the Guide: 6-11, 12-14

Program components: clinic-based, provider-based, or miscellaneous; parent or family component, community/media campaign

Measured outcomes: social and emotional health and development; physical health; behavioral problems

Program information last updated 3/16/07