Parent-Training Intervention to Prevent Adolescent Depression and Substance Use

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The proposed project will develop and pilot test the Depression and Substance Use Prevention (DSUP) program, a parent-training preventive intervention adapted from two pre-existing, evidence-based interventions: one that targets adolescent depression (Hope, Meaning, and Continuity) and another that targets adolescent substance use (Family Matters). Research suggests that parenting skills deficits that result from maternal or paternal depression may place adolescents at risk not only for depression but also for substance use. Improving the parenting capacities of depressed caregivers may help prevent depression and substance use, as well as the co-occurrence of these outcomes, among youth. Reducing problem co- occurrence is particularly important given research showing increased risk for future developmental problems compared with either depression or substance use alone. This exploratory/developmental (R21) project will develop the DSUP intervention (Aim 1) and evaluate the feasibility of delivering the program to depressed parents of teenagers between the ages of 12-15 years, a period of development characterized by increased susceptibility for depression and substance use (Aim 2). In addition, a preliminary test of the short-term efficacy of the program for improving parenting and reducing adolescent depression and substance use will be conducted (Aim 3). To accomplish these aims, 60 families (60 parents/caregivers and 60 target adolescents) will be recruited via advertising throughout clinics of a large health care system serving a diverse population of individuals in the Seattle, Washington metropolitan area. Thirty families each will be assigned to either the intervention condition or the minimal-contact comparison condition. Combining compatible, pre-existing prevention programs that target different but related outcomes may provide an efficient and cost-effective way to enhance effects on targeted outcomes and potentially reduce the comorbidity of problems, such as depression and substance use, that often co-occur among teens. This application is submitted in response to PA-06-530 Parenting Capacities and Health Outcomes in Youths and Adolescents. Findings from this study will be useful for evaluating the feasibility and short-term efficacy of the combined DSUP program, and will inform the development of a future R01 proposal to conduct a larger randomized trial of the intervention. PUBLIC HEALTH SIGNIFICANCE The proposed exploratory/development project will evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of the Depression and Substance Use Prevention (DSUP) program, a parent-training preventive intervention adapted from two pre-existing, evidence-based interventions. Findings will provide preliminary information about the degree to which the DSUP program improves parenting capacities and reduces adolescent depression and substance use, as well as the co-occurrence of these emotional and behavioral problems.