Parent-Targeted Intervention for Adolescent Substance Use Prevention

 

 

OVERVIEW

 

The Parent-Targeted Intervention for Adolescent Substance Use Prevention (PTI) is a prevention program that seeks to reduce tobacco and alcohol use in adolescents. This three- to four-session program is designed to increase drug refusal skills, peer friendships, and parent-child involvement. Study findings at posttest and follow-up found no impacts on parenting behaviors, the onset of alcohol and/or tobacco use, or on children's reports of parenting behaviors.

 

DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM

 

Target population: Children and adolescents in the fifth and seventh grades

 

The Parent-Targeted Intervention for Adolescent Substance Use Prevention (PTI) includes three sessions for parents of fifth graders and four sessions for parents of seventh graders. The first session involves a group session with parents, their children, and their children's friends. The goal of the first session is to familiarize themselves with their children's friends. Parents receive workbooks listing activities and suggestions for keeping their children away from drugs. Parents also received a list of their children's friends ("friendship circles"). In Session 2, parents meet with the parents of their children's friends. A facilitator discuss ways to handle manipulation strategies they may encounter from their children and are taught how to enforce rules and engage in effective parenting practices. In Session 3, Parents meet again in their friendship circles and discuss issues related to alcohol use and ways to curtail unsupervised use.

 

EVALUATION(S) OF PROGRAM

 

Study 1: Cohen, D.A., & Rice, J. C. (1995). A Parent-Targeted Intervention for Adolescent Substance Use Prevention: Lessons Learned. Evaluation Review, 19(2), 159-180.

 

Evaluated Population: 1,034 fifth and seventh graders attending 17 schools participated in this study. The ethnic composition of the sample was 38 percent European American, 32 percent Mexican-American, 15 percent Asian American, 4 percent African American, and 11 percent other/unknown.

 

 Approach: Schools were randomly assigned to control or experimental groups, after stratifying by ethnic mix, socioeconomic status, and achievement scores. At baseline, posttest, and for  at least two follow-ups, child reports of tobacco, alcohol, and other drug use, as well as information about adolescents' relationships with their parents, were obtained. In addition, parents completed surveys focused on their parenting behaviors (i.e., monitoring, positive reinforcement, consistent discipline, and knowledge of child's activities, whereabouts, and friends). Parents also answered questions about their children's peers' drug use and about their children's risk taking behaviors.

 

Results: There were no differences in the rates of tobacco or alcohol use initiation between intervention and control conditions in either the fifth-grade or seventh-grade cohorts. In addition, the program did not impact children's reports of parenting behaviors (e.g., monitoring, rapport, and respect). The low level of parent participation obtained in this study (Cohort 1: 52 out of 941 parents attended at least one session; Cohort 2: 96 out of 1,127 parents attended at least one session); should be considered when evaluating these findings.

 

 

SOURCES FOR MORE INFORMATION

 

Deborah A. Cohen, MD, MPH

Louisiana St. University Medical Center

1542 Tulane Ave

New Orleans, LA 70112

 

References:

Cohen, D.A., & Rice, J. C. (1995). A Parent-Targeted Intervention for Adolescent Substance Use Prevention: Lessons Learned. Evaluation Review, 19(2), 159-180.

 

Program categorized in this guide according to the following:

Evaluated participant ages:  10-12

Program age ranges in the guide: Childhood, Adolescence

Program components: parent or family component

Measured outcomes: physical health

 

KEYWORDS: Middle Childhood (6-11), Elementary, White or Caucasian, Hispanic or Latino, Asian, Substance Use, Alcohol Use, Tobacco Use, Parent Training, Prevention.

 

 

 

Program information last updated on 3/6/09.

 

 

		© Child Trends 2003