OUTCOMES FOR DRUG ABUSERS CHILDREN--MULTISITE STUDY

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DESCRIPTION: (Applicant's Abstract) This proposed FIRST project will continue Dr. Stanger's programmatic research on children of drug abusers. The purpose of this study is to identify predictors of adolescent drug use and its correlates among children of dug abusers. Previous research has shown that children of parents receiving treatment for drug abuse are at greater risk for behavioral/emotional problems than matched comparison groups. In particular, children of drug abusers are at risk for conduct problems that are associated with early and persistent drug use. However, not all children of drug abusers show behavioral/emotional problems at the time of their parent's treatment for drug abuse. This project aims to identify risk and protective factors for the onset an persistence of drug use among children of drug abusers. Candidate predictors will include severity of parental drug abuse, family environment and parenting, child behavioral/emotional problems and deviant attitudes, peer influences, and demographic variables. We will assess children's behavioral/emotional problems, drug use, and antisocial behavior via standardized rating forms from: (1) a parent or parent figure who is receiving treatment for drug abuse; (2) a second parent figure in the home; 93) the child's teacher and (4) children age 11 years and older. Study sites included Burlington, VT, Houston, Philadelphia, New York, and Denver. This study will extend and expand findings from Dr. Stanger's NIDA small grant project. Advances in this First proposal includes assessing the children directly, assessing important mediators and moderators of parental drug abuse on children's problems, assessing drug abuse and delinquency outcomes, and assessing similar constructs at both Time 1 and Time 2. The project includes three components: (1) in Years 1-5, we will do a cross-sectional assessment of 2-18-year-old children of drug abusers; (2) in Years 2 through 5, we will do a prospective 1-year follow-up of children aged 11-18 years; and (3) in Year 1, we will do longitudinal follow-up of all children aged 1-18 years from Dr. Stanger's NIDA small grant project who were originally assessed in 1995 and 1996. Findings will be used to develop preventative interventions for children.