FAMILY BASED PREVENTION FOR CHILDREN OF ALCOHOLICS

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

The specific aims of this project are (1) to test the effectiveness of the Strengthening Families Program (SFP) for children of alcohol dependent parents; (2) to examine health services research on the SFP; and (3) to conduct etiological theory testing for children of alcohol dependent parents. These aims will be tested by an international research team that will allow us to determine whether (1) the SFP will have similar success rates, (2) there are similar health services-related outcomes, (3) and whether etiological model building will generalize, across different social environmental contexts and health service system milieus. The SFP is a highly structured, family-focused prevention program composed of three components: parent training, children's skills training, and family skills training for children of alcohol and other drug (AOD) dependent parents. The subjects will include 720 families of school-aged (9-12 years old) children. These families will be recruited in five cohorts of 144 COA families each from six treatment agencies across two environmental contexts (Buffalo and Toronto) over two and a half years. Half (N=360 families) will be randomly assigned to the experimental group and half to a minimal contact control intervention consisting of a single video parenting session. A true-experimental, 3 year longitudinal research design consisting of several repeated measures (i.e., a pre-test, post-test, and longitudinal follow-ups) and with random assignment of families will be utilized. Standardized outcome measures of risk/protective factors (e.g., substance use/abuse, self-esteem, coping skills, family environment, life stressors) will be gathered from both children and parents. Comprehensive process data (e.g., program fidelity, consumer satisfaction, participation rates, and trainer variables) will be linked to outcome data. A number of co-variates (age, gender, ethnicity, site, child dysfunction, level of alcohol/drug use) will be analyzed to determine differential program effectiveness. Data analyses will include analyses of variance, SEM, mediational analysis, latent growth modeling and hierarchical linear modeling.