Rural Methamphetamine-Abusing Parents and Their Children

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The proposed exploratory-developmental project will study rural, Midwestern methamphetamine-abusing parents and their school-aged children. Methamphetamine production and abuse is a serious and growing problem in rural communities in the U.S. affecting not just individuals, but whole families. Rural law enforcement officers and health, mental health, and child welfare professionals increasingly encounter children living in homes where methamphetamine is produced and abused. These children are at high risk for developing mental health and substance abuse disorders. To elaborate effective prevention and intervention services for rural children and their families, it is critical to increase our understanding of family ecologies, socialization practices, and parent and child belief systems related to methamphetamine abuse. The goal of the proposed research is to describe parent and child belief systems related to parent methamphetamine abuse contextualized by information on family ecology; and child and parent functioning (development, mental health and substance abuse). The specific aims are to: 1) describe the physical and social ecologies of rural families involved with methamphetamine abuse, 2) describe parents' socialization beliefs and practices about their methamphetamine abuse and its effects on their children; and functioning, 3) describe children's experiences and beliefs about methamphetamine abuse and its effects on their lives; and functioning; 4) explore any patterns emerging across families especially in regard to potential child risk and protective factors for children's substance use and mental health problems. We approach these aims from an ecological perspective. We use a mixed methods design which is primarily qualitative but includes some quantitative methods as well. In-depth, semi-structured interviews will provide rich descriptions of the beliefs and experiences of parents and their children. Information on family ecology will be supplemented through examination of child welfare investigative reports and home visits. Information on child and parent functioning will be obtained from structured, clinical instruments. This pluralistic strategy will allow us to examine patterns of parent and child beliefs and experiences in relation to family contexts, and child and parent functioning. Such contextualized descriptions are the first steps toward identifying risk and protective factors that can inform the development of preventive and intervention services to be examined in a future RO1 to NIDA. Methamphetamine production and abuse is a serious and growing public health problem in rural communities in the U.S. affecting not just individuals, but whole communities. This research will examine children's mental health functioning. Such information is critical to the development and elaboration of effective prevention interventions.