The assessment of parent-led prevention programs: a preliminary assessment of impact

This article reports on a preliminary study of the impact of parent-led prevention groups on youthful drug and alcohol use. In addition, the study assessed the extent to which families involved with parent-led prevention programs reported improved family relations and increased parental control of children's social activities--two major mechanisms by which parent-group advocates claim their activities alter youth substance use patterns. Consistent with the claims of parent-group advocates, the study results suggest that the parent groups did have some impact on family relations and on parental control of children's social activities. The evidence for an impact on drug and alcohol use was, however, weak. A somewhat unexpected finding was that parents who become involved in parent-led prevention activities may not be those parents whose children are at highest risk.     

Do Actions Speak Louder Than Words? Adolescent Interpretations of Parental Substance Use

Parents are powerful socialization agents for children and as children reach adolescence parental role models, among other sources of influence, become particularly salient in adolescents’ decision-making regarding initiation of substance use. Open parent-adolescent communication about substances is associated with less substance use by adolescents; however, it is unclear how youth interpret antidrug use messages from their parents, especially if the parents engage in legal and/or illicit substance use themselves. Framed by social learning theory and social constructionism, this study analyzed in-depth interviews with 108 adolescents about personal experiences with substance use, family communication about substance use, and adolescent interpretations of parental use. Emergent themes in the data include: positive parental influence, parental contradictions, and negative outcomes of use. Prevalence of parental use—regardless of legality, rarity of explicit communication about parental use, and various interpretations of parental use are discussed.     

Social Capital and Adolescent Substance Use: The Role of Family,School, and Neighborhood Contexts

This study assesses the link between social capital factors of norm‐setting social arenas including family, school, and neighborhood and adolescent substance use measured by cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, and illicit drug use among a sample of adolescents in California. The key messages of this study are that socialization processes at different life domains, in varying degrees, are associated with adolescent substance use behavior. Compared with school and neighborhood contexts, family is the most influential setting that should be primarily targeted for youth substance use prevention. Among different aspects of within‐family social resources, parental monitoring seems to be the most protective of adolescent substance use. Study implications on family‐based interventions are discussed.     

Opioid Use Disorder,Attachment, and Parenting: Key Concerns for Practitioners

In the United States, the current epidemic of opioid use disorders impacts many parents and their children. Historically, interventions for parents with substance use disorders have focused on two separate areas, achieving and maintaining abstinence and learning parenting skills. These interventions do not address the parent/child relationship, and the impact of parental opioid use disorder on attachment. Insecure attachment, particularly disorganized attachment, negatively affects the child’s development and safety. Attachment should always be considered when doing a safety assessment or planning an intervention for parents with opioid use disorders. This conceptual paper describes the impact of parental opioid use on attachment across the developmental span of childhood, highlighting research about opioid use disorder, parenting, and attachment which is relevant for practitioners working with parents with opioid use disorders, as child protection workers, substance abuse counselors, or therapists. Identification, attachment assessment tools, and empirical research on attachment-based interventions are discussed.     

Adolescents’ Perceived Parenting Styles and Their Substance Use: Concurrent and Longitudinal Analyses

The relation between parenting style and adolescent substance use (tobacco, alcohol, hashish, and amphetamines) was examined concurrently (at age 14) for licit drug use and longitudinally (from age 14 to 17) for both licit and illicit drug use in a sample of 347 youth from compulsory schools in Reykjavik, Iceland. After controlling for adolescent perceptions of parental and peer use, own previous use, and gender, results indicated that adolescents who characterized their parents as authoritative were more protected against substance use than adolescents who perceived their parents as neglectful, both concurrently and longitudinally. Compared with adolescents who characterized their parents as authoritative and neglectful, those from authoritarian and indulgent families each showed a different pattern of substance use both with regard to the type of substance and over time in a longer term perspective.     

Does Family Intervention for Adolescent Substance Use Impact Parental Wellbeing? A Longitudinal Evaluation

Adolescent substance abuse is a common problem and family interventions are emerging as a strategy to prevent it and assist family coping. The effectiveness of a prevention‐focussed family intervention was evaluated for its secondary impacts on improving parental mental health and family functioning. Twenty‐four secondary schools in Melbourne Victoria were randomly assigned to either a control condition or an intervention titled Resilient Families. The two intervention levels analysed were: (1) a parenting booklet only and; (2) combining the booklet with face‐to‐face parent education sessions. Parent surveys at baseline were followed up one year and four years later. Repeated‐measures analysis (n = 560) found parents attending parent education demonstrated reductions in mental health symptoms, however this had negative effects on family cohesion and no impact on family conflict. These findings were interpreted in terms of parent education assisting parent mental health by promoting assertive parenting styles that may increase adolescent‐parent tension by encouraging firmer parental boundaries and strategies to reduce adolescent substance use.     

Violence Exposure and Drug Use in Central American Youth: Family Cohesion and Parental Monitoring as Protective Factors

Associations between witnessing serious violence and drug use, and the protective influences of family cohesion and parental monitoring, were investigated among 9,840 adolescents (50.5% female, M age=15.29 years, SD=1.76) living in Panama and Costa Rica. After accounting for demographics and parental and sibling substance use, witnessing serious violence was associated with greater drunkenness, tobacco use, number of illicit drugs used, and problems with drugs and alcohol. In every analysis, exposure to violence was associated with more drug use, while family cohesion and parental monitoring attenuated risk. Further, family cohesion and parental monitoring exerted a protective‐stabilizing effect on number of illicit drugs used and on problems with drugs and alcohol. There were few interactions with age. Implications for prevention are discussed.     

Parental substance misuse and compliance as factors determining child removal: A sample from the Victorian Children's Court in Australia

Purpose

The current study explores the role of parental substance misuse in child protection cases and examines its impact as a factor in decisions on child removal in court orders.

Methods

A cohort of 273 child protection cases from the Victorian Children's Court was reviewed. This sample consisted of cases where children have been removed (Custody to Secretary Order, n = 142 cases) or remained with parents (Supervision Order, n = 131 cases). Data was extracted on parental substance misuse in single and two parent households as well as compliance with court-based and child protection directives.

Principle results

Parental substance misuse (PSM) was present in 51% of child protection cases sampled and among those, poly-substance abuse was common (67%). PSM was associated with Indigenous status; younger age of child at court appearance; having a court-proven case of emotional abuse, less compliance with child protection services and a longer time between notification to authorities and final court decision. In one parent households, only parental compliance is the primary factor underlying decisions of child removal. In two parent households, the decision to remove a child from the family home was ultimately driven by parental compliance, and to a lesser extent by PSM of illicit drugs and the number of parents misusing drugs.

Conclusion

PSM and non-compliance appear to be significant factors in delaying stability for the child through the granting of court orders which may involve child removal. There is a need, by child protection professionals, for prompt recognition of PSM and associated compliance/engagement issues in order to refer appropriate cases for further assessment and treatment in specialist drug treatment services. Early involvement with specialist drug treatment services provides the Court with an indication of compliance which is an important factor for making decisions that assist with achieving stability for the child.     

The Role of Parental Indulgence and Economic Stress in Life Satisfaction: Differential Perceptions of Parents and Adolescents

The purpose of this study was to determine if there were differences between adolescents and parents in their perceptions of parental indulgence, stress (economic and life), and life satisfaction. In addition, using the conceptual frameworks of family ecosystems and developmental theory, the relationships between the three types of parental indulgence (soft structure, overnurturance, and giving too much), economic stress, life stress, and life satisfaction were examined for parents and adolescent children. Findings indicated that adolescents perceived higher levels of stress and soft structure as compared to their parents, whereas parents perceived higher levels of economic stress. Additionally, each type of parental indulgence affected parent and adolescent life stress and life satisfaction differently. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

Parental Competence in Italy: A Comparison Between Italian and Immigrant Parents

The migration experience could influence parental competence perception in immigrant parents. Within this framework the current work focuses on immigrant parenthood and whether a family’s migratory path could lead parents to feel less competent in their parental roles. The aim of the present study is to analyze perceptions of parental competence and family routines among immigrant and Italian parents during the middle childhood stages. The results showed that immigrant parents perceive themselves as more competent than Italians. Immigrants also attribute more importance to the dimension of relational and regulatory routines in daily family life than do Italian parents. Professionals can use these findings to better understand how best to enhance practices and strategies appropriate to the complexity of these intercultural contexts.     

Serving families with child maltreatment and substance use disorders: A decade of learning

ABSTRACT

An increase in parental substance use disorders (SUD) and the number of infants and toddlers entering foster care has prompted federal and state efforts to change the treatment paradigm toward more integrated and family-centered strategies. The Regional Partnership Grant (RPG) program demonstrated that family-centered strategies can improve child and parent outcomes. The current challenge is to bring effective strategies to scale. This conceptual article highlights the lessons learned from 10 years of implementing and evaluating programs to meet the needs of families affected by parental SUD and child maltreatment. Effective family-centered strategies identified by the RPG program are illustrated with specifics from the Sobriety Treatment and Recovery Team program. These effective strategies could be implemented in any jurisdiction and include (1) collaboration toward integrated services between child welfare and SUD treatment, (2) timely access to SUDS treatment, (3) recovery management and support, (4) tailored family services, and (5) adaptation to local jurisdiction needs. When these strategies are operational, children are more likely to be safe and remain in parent custody, and parents are more likely to achieve sobriety and improve their parental capacity. Future research might examine the unique impact of each of the five strategies independently.     

Multi-family psychoeducation groups in the treatment of children with mood disorders

This study examined the impact of adjunctive multi-family psychoeducation groups (MFPG) on mood-disordered children aged 8 to 11 and their families. Participants were 35 children and 47 parents from families randomly assigned to either immediate MFPG plus treatment as usual (n = 18) or a 6-month wait-list condition plus treatment as usual (n = 17). At the 6 month follow up, immediate treatment families reported: Increased parental knowledge about childhood mood symptoms; increased positive family interactions as reported by the parent; increased perceptions of parental support as reported by children; and increased utilization of appropriate services by families. Expected impact on decreasing negative family interactions was not found. Results are largely consistent with hypothesized findings and support the need to further investigate the adjunctive role of psychoeducation in the treatment of childhood mood disorders.     

Negotiating Languages in Immigrant Families

This study is about the multifaceted nature of language use in immigrant families. Following earlier explorations of language in the segmented assimilation framework and using adolescent and parental data from the 1995 wave of the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study, this article examines how adolescents’ use of English with their parents relates to their proficiency in English and ethnic languages, and their personal language preferences, as well as their parents’ language proficiency and use. The findings suggested that adolescent language choice in child–parent interactions reflected the family’s ways to negotiate the distinct linguistic repertoires of immigrant parents and their children. The adolescent use of English was not necessarily associated with social and emotional estrangement between generations. Even when adolescents generally preferred English, they were less likely to use English in child–parent interactions if their parents, particularly their mothers, were less proficient in English. On the other hand, adolescents were more likely to speak English to their parents if their mothers were proficient in English, regardless of what language parents used with the children. Parents who spoke to their children in English likely responded to their children’s doubts about their ethnic language proficiency and were linguistically and emotionally ready to make that transition.     

Acceptance and Caregiving of Married and Divorced Custodial Mothers and Fathers

The study examined whether differences in gender and family status affect parental caregiving disposition and acceptance of children among parents of children in mid-childhood. The number of participants were 122 divorced-custodial fathers, 107 married fathers, 85 divorced-custodial mothers, and 82 married mothers (n?=?398). A comparison among four groups of parents revealed the following gender differences: mothers scored higher on anxious caregiving and parental acceptance than fathers, and lower on avoidant caregiving. Regression analysis indicated that the higher the caregiving avoidance or anxiety, the lower the parental acceptance. Family status moderated parental acceptance, as avoidant caregiving was associated with reduced parental acceptance among married parents, but not among divorced custodial parents. The finding that avoidant caregiving was not associated with reduced acceptance among divorced custodial parents implies that their parental acceptance behaviors toward their children are affected by their parental status as sole custodial parent, and the associated responsibilities, rather than by gender.     

Predictors of Substance Use and Mental Health of Children of Divorce

Abstract

This short-term longitudinal study examined psycho-social influences on substance use and mental health among children of divorced parents. The sample consisted of ethnically diverse fifth and sixth grade students, and compared children of divorced parents (CODPs; N = 176), who were an average of four years post-divorce, with children of married parents (COMPs; N = 213) who had never divorced. CODPs reported more life stress, less problem-focused coping, and more substance-using friends and family members than COMPs. Further, these variables were significantly related to CODPs' greater reported substance use, aggressive behavior, and depression than COMPs cross-sectionally, and longitudinally, four months later. The results suggest the importance of including both substance use and mental health outcomes in preventive interventions for CODPs.     

Engaging substance-affected families in child welfare: parent perspectives of a parenting intervention at program initiation and completion

Families affected by substance abuse are at an increased risk of child welfare involvement and poor child welfare outcomes. One strategy to improve outcomes among these families is evidence-based parenting interventions. While these interventions show the potential for advancing the child welfare field, they have not been widely and rigorously evaluated with birth parents, especially those affected by substance abuse, who face marked vulnerability and marginalization. We sought to draw on parents’ expertise and to understand their first and changing impressions throughout involvement in a parenting intervention, as well as overall impressions at program completion. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 10 parents who were involved in child welfare and a family drug treatment court. All parents were affected by parental substance use and had recently completed the Strengthening Families Program. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed for prominent themes. The study’s findings showed that parents described four key themes that influenced their perspectives of the parenting intervention: program reputation as communicated by peers, relevance and applicability of the program, children’s involvement and enjoyment of the program, and program structure issues that pointed to the need for high-quality group facilitation. Implications for practice and research are discussed.     

The disparate impact of alcohol,methamphetamine, and other drugs on family reunification

Parental substance abuse is one of the most prominent reasons that children enter foster care. The relative role of substance type in delaying reunification has remained elusive. This study sought to understand the impact of parental use of alcohol, methamphetamine, other drugs, and poly-substances on reunification rates for children in foster care. The authors used administrative foster care data from a Midwestern state between years 2007 and 2012 to evaluate the unique contribution of each substance use domain. Results suggest that parental methamphetamine use has the most significant impact on the likelihood of reunification, followed by other drugs, and poly-substances. These findings further indicate that children removed due to any parental drug use stay in foster care for an average of 49–156 days longer than their peers. Implications for research and practice are addressed.     

“Let’s Talk About Children” resource: A parallel mixed method evaluation

Psycho-education interventions for families affected by parental mental illness have been found to be effective. This study aimed to assess the feasibility of a psycho-educational resource for parents, designed to initiate family discussions about parental mental illness and educate parents about the impact of their illness on children. In a mixed methods design, 19 parents read the “Let’s Talk About Children” psycho-educational resource and completed pre-and-post questionnaires measuring their perspectives of mental illness and awareness of the impact of mental illness on their children and family. 18 of these participated in a follow-up, one hour, individual interview to obtain further feedback on the resource. After viewing the resource, changes in parents’ attitudes and/or behavior in relation to mental illness and parenting were recorded. Interview findings indicate that the resource gave parents an awareness of the skills and knowledge needed for initiating family discussions about parental mental illness. The results of this study can be used to inform future interventions targeting parents who experience mental illness.     

Children of prisoners: exploring the impact of families' reappraisal of the role and status of the imprisoned parent on children's coping strategies

Qualitative data from a larger study on the impact of parental imprisonment in four countries found that children of prisoners face fundamentally similar psychological and social challenges. The ways that children cope, however, are influenced by the interpretative frame adopted by the adults around them, and by how issues of parental imprisonment are talked about in their families. This article argues that families have to reappraise their view of the imprisoned parent and then decide on their policy for how to deal with this publicly. Their approach may be based on openness and honesty or may emphasise privacy and secrecy, or a combination of these. Children are likely to be influenced by their parents'/carers' views, although these may cause conflict for them. Where parents/carers retain a positive view of the imprisoned parent, children are likely to benefit; where parents/carers feel issues of shame and stigma acutely, this is likely to be transmitted to their children. This is important for social workers and practitioners involved in supporting prisoners' families and for parenting programmes.     

The impact of parent and child media use on early parent–infant attachment

With the rise in affordability of digital media and mobile devices, children under age 2 on average spend significantly more time with digital media than is recommended. Although concerns have been expressed about how parent and child media use might negatively impact parent–child attachment, there continues to be a scarcity of research on the topic. The current study assessed both the amount and the way in which children (11–26 months) and their parents engage with digital media and the impact on early attachment after controlling for temperament, parent income, parent age, marital status, and access to support. The study utilizes data from a diverse sample: 248 parents of infants completed an attachment q-sort and surveys assessing the amount of media use, parental absorption in media, types of parental mediation, temperament, and demographics. Results showed that for both parent and child, time using digital media and co-viewing was not predictive of attachment insecurity. Parental absorption in media was found to significantly predict attachment insecurity. Greater child TV media use was associated with poorer attachment security when there was limited to no parental active mediation. Active mediation served as a protective factor for attachment while parental absorption in media serves as a risk factor for attachment.