Children's self-selection into prevention programs: Evaluation of an innovative recruitment strategy for children of alcoholics

Systematically evaluated the efficacy of a self-selection strategy to recruit elementary-aged children into a school-based prevention program for children of alcoholics. Recruitment involved: a film about parental alcoholism, a follow-up meeting, and an invitation to participate in a prevention program. Of the 844 4th-6th graders exposed to recruitment, 67% showed no interest in the program, 26% attended the follow-up meeting, and 11% obtained parental permission. Analyses focused on group differences according to selection classification on measures of symptomatology and resources available to the child. Significant differences were noted on level of concern about parents' drinking, depression, conduct disorder, and self-worth. Children interested in the program tended to score higher on measures of symptomatology. The potential of a self-selection model for identifying children at risk and areas for future research are discussed.     

Parental Communication of Responsiveness and Control as Predictors of Adolescents' Emotional and Behavioral Resilience in Families with Alcoholic Versus Nonalcoholic Parents

Interactions between parents and children establish norms for managing emotions and behavior, which are markers of resilience. This study examines how features of interpersonal communication between parents and children facilitate the resilience of children of alcoholic parents versus nonalcoholic parents. Parent–adolescent dyads (30 families of alcoholics, 30 families of nonalcoholics) were invited to participate in two videotaped interactions, which were then rated for parental responsiveness and control and adolescent emotion regulation and behavioral impulsivity. Parental responsiveness was positively associated with emotion regulation, and parental control was negatively associated with emotion regulation and positively associated with impulsivity. Moderation analyses point to several notable differences in the effects for alcoholic versus nonalcoholic families.     

Regulatory fit in framing strategy of parental persuasive messages to young children

The present research examined regulatory fit in parental messages aimed at young children. Study 1 measured parents' chronic regulatory focus, asking them to select either positively or negatively framed messages for promotion‐ and prevention‐focused outcomes. The results showed that parents preferred positive frames for promotion‐focused messages and negative frames for prevention‐focused messages. Furthermore, parents with a chronic promotion focus favored a positively framed strategy more than parents with a prevention focus. Study 2 found that parents adopted different message strategies depending on whether they favored an active responsive or an active restrictive parenting style. Together, these findings demonstrate for the first time the applicability of regulatory focus/fit theory to explain parents' preferences for positively and negatively framed messages targeting children.     

The role of the self‐fulfilling prophecy in young adolescents' responsiveness to a substance use prevention program

This research examined whether naturally occurring self‐fulfilling prophecies influenced adolescents' responsiveness to a substance use prevention program. The authors addressed this issue with a unique methodological approach that was designed to enhance the internal validity of research on naturally occurring self‐fulfilling prophecies by experimentally controlling for prediction without influence. Participants were 321 families who were assigned to an adolescent substance use prevention program that either did or did not systematically involve parents. Results showed that parents' perceptions about the value of involving parents in adolescent substance use prevention predicted adolescents' alcohol use more strongly among families assigned to the prevention program that systematically involved parents than to the one that did not. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.     

One Family at a Time: A Prevention Program for At‐Risk Parents

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a psychoeducational parenting program with at‐risk parents of young children. At‐risk was defined as excessive parental use of verbal and corporal punishment combined with low‐income status. All families were seen for 10 weeks, either individually or in very small groups. Results showed that compared with the control group, parents participating in the program significantly decreased their levels of verbal and corporal punishment, anger, stress, and reported child behavior problems; results were maintained at follow‐up. Implications for counselors are provided.     

Family Process as a Mediator of the Negative Effects of Parental Alcoholism on Young Adult Dating Relationships

The effects of parental alcoholism on young adult dating relationship quality (trust, intimacy, commitment, and satisfaction) were considered in the context of the mediating variable of family process (cohesion, conflict resolution, and family competence). A model was tested with a sample of 287 young adults (95 were adult children of alcoholics) that suggested that healthier family process mediates the negative effects of having an alcoholic parent on dating relationship quality. Structural equation modeling results showed that the model fit the data. Young adults from alcoholic families in which family process was less negatively affected by parental alcoholism were less likely to report lower dating relationship quality than those from families in which family process was more negatively affected by parental alcoholism. Parental divorce was directly related to lower relationship quality. Clinical implications for working with young adult children of alcoholics are discussed.     

Efficacy of a Self-Administered Home-Based Parent Intervention on Parenting Behaviors for Preventing Adolescent Substance Use

A growing body of literature suggests that parenting practices characterized by careful monitoring, firm and consistent limit setting, and nurturing communication patterns with children are protective against adolescent substance use and other problem behaviors. Family-based prevention programs that promote these behaviors can be an effective way to prevent adolescent substance use. However, low participation rates remain problematic for many such programs, particularly programs that require parents to attend scheduled meetings outside the home. The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of a newly developed substance use prevention program when self-administered at home by parents of middle school students. As part of a randomized trial, 338 parents of middle school students either received the parent prevention program or served as control group participants. Parents completed self-report surveys at home that assessed parenting behaviors at pre-test, post-test, and one-year follow-up time points. A series of mixed model ANCOVAs were conducted, examining the post-test and one-year follow-up means for the parent outcomes, controlling for pre-test levels on these outcomes. Analyses showed that at the post-test assessment, intervention parents reported significant increases relative to controls in appropriate role modeling, disciplinary practices, family communication, and parental monitoring skills. At the one-year follow-up assessment, intervention effects on family communication skills remained significant and effects on parental role modeling were marginally significant. This study shows that a theoretically rich prevention program can be effectively self-administered by parents at home and improve key parenting skills that have been shown to prevent adolescent substance use.     

Evaluation of home-based programs for teaching personal safety skills to children

We evaluated the efficacy of a commercially available program, the Red Flag, Green Flag Prevention Book, used by parents to teach their children personal safety skills. Children's knowledge and skills regarding the prevention of sexual abuse and abduction were assessed prior to, during, and after training. In one group, training consisted of parents using the prevention book to train their children. Parents of children in the second group used the prevention book with added instructions. Children who did not achieve criterion performance after training with the prevention book received behavioral skills training provided by the experimenter. All children acquired safety skills following behavioral skills training. Follow-up probes 2 months later showed skill maintenance among the older children. Parents reported satisfaction with the procedures and no signs of behavioral or emotional problems following the follow-up probe.     

Externalizing symptoms among children of alcoholic parents: Entry points for an antisocial pathway to alcoholism

The authors examined heterogeneity in risk for externalizing symptoms in children of alcoholic parents, as it may inform the search for entry points into an antisocial pathway to alcoholism. That is, they tested whether the number of alcoholic parents in a family, the comorbid subtype of parental alcoholism, and the gender of the child predicted trajectories of externalizing symptoms over the early life course, as assessed in high-risk samples of children of alcoholic parents and matched controls. Through integrative analyses of 2 independent, longitudinal studies, they showed that children with either an antisocial alcoholic parent or 2 alcoholic parents were at greatest risk for externalizing symptoms. Moreover, children with a depressed alcoholic parent did not differ from those with an antisocial alcoholic parent in reported symptoms. These findings were generally consistent across mother, father, and adolescent reports of symptoms; child gender and child age (ages 2 through 17); and the 2 independent studies examined. Multialcoholic and comorbid-alcoholic families may thus convey a genetic susceptibility to dysregulation along with environments that both exacerbate this susceptibility and provide few supports to offset it.     

Evaluating a primary prevention program for children of divorce

The effectiveness of a primary prevention program for children of divorce is evaluated. Subjects included 82 mother-child pairs. Mothers had been separated for 33 months or less and did not have prior histories of using mental health services. Subjects were assigned to one of four conditions: (a) the Children's Support Group alone (CSG), (b) the CSG and the Single Parents' Support Group (SPSG), (c) the SPSG alone, or (d) a no-treatment control group. Data collected before, after, and 5 months following intervention, were analyzed using analyses of covariance with preintervention scores as covariates and pre-post and post-follow-up difference scores as dependent measures. Children in the CSG-alone condition improved most in self-concept and parents in the SPSG-alone condition improved the most in adjustment. Improvements were either maintained or did not change differentially across groups at follow up. Adaptive social skills of CSG-alone children compared to children in the CSG/SPSG groups showed significant post-to-follow-up improvements.     

Birth rank as a determinant of academic achievement:results from a European survey of primary school children

ABSTRACT

The present study investigates the relationship between birth rank and academic achievement of children in a cross-country study to examine whether firstborn children perform better in primary school than later-born children when controlling for individual, social and parental characteristics. Data were drawn from the School Children Mental Health in Europe (SCMHE) study, which included samples from Bulgaria, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Lithuania, Romania and Turkey (n = 7,518). Children’s academic performance in reading and mathematics was evaluated by teachers and parents reported sociodemographic variables including birth rank and parental attitudes. Controlling for individual, sociodemographic variables and parental attitudes in multinomial regressions, first- or second-born children displayed greater performance in mathematics and in reading as compared to children whose birth rank was third or above. Children from large families, especially when they are not first- or second-born appear to be at greater risk for academic difficulties and should benefit from targeted prevention efforts.     

Family/media approach to HIV prevention: results with a home-based, parent-teen video program.

We describe the first study with a home-based HIV prevention video program for parents and young teenagers. The objectives of the program are to inform parents and teenagers about the causes and prevention of HIV infection and other sexually transmitted diseases, to increase family problem-solving skills, and to increase teen problem-solving and assertiveness skills. The objectives pertain to the goals of increasing skills needed to help teenagers avoid or manage high-risk behaviors and situations. Forty-five families with at least one 12- to 14-year-old were randomly assigned to either experimental (receive video program) or control (no video) conditions in a pretest-posttest design. After 6 months (Follow-Up 1), the experimental and control families were reassessed. The control families next received the video program, and the control families were assessed again (Follow-Up 2). The results indicate increases in parent and teen knowledge and skills only with video viewing. Approaches to improving the video program, particularly with teenagers, are discussed.     

Social Validity of a Training and Coaching Program for Parents of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder on a Waiting List for Early Behavioral Intervention

Due to limited public resources, many children with autism spectrum disorder and their families must wait several months, if not years, to access early behavioral intervention (EBI) services. Service providers must thus develop alternative support models to assist families placed on waiting lists. The present study assessed the social validity of one such initiative, a training and coaching program for parents whose children had been put on a waiting list for EBI services. This program consisted of group training sessions on strategies to cope with their child’s disorder based on applied behavioral analysis and on one-hour, weekly follow-up meetings to support parents’ interventions with their child over the course of 12 months. Social validity was assessed through parental satisfaction with this program and their perception of its effects on themselves, the family, the child, and parental stress. The 94 participants were generally satisfied with the program overall, although they wished for more frequent and intensive interventions. They reported that the program had positive effects on their psychological well-being, their family’s quality of life, and their child’s behavior. However, parenting stress levels were found to have increased over the 12-month period. These results demonstrate that training and individually supporting parents can be beneficial for families of children with ASD who cannot have access to early behavioral intervention immediately upon receiving a diagnosis. Importantly, however, these lower-cost, parent-focused programs cannot be considered a substitute for more intensive and children-driven services.     

Notice and consent: The school's responsibility to inform parents

Parental involvement in planning and placement for 20 children initially referred for special education is described in light of the PL 94-142 requirements for informed parental consent. The pattern of notification and parental involvement in the planning and placement team in four elementary schools is described, and the level of parental understanding for four components of the special education decision (eligibility, placement, program goals, and review date) is examined. Comparisons indicate that parent's versions of each decision component were clear and accurate no more than 50% of the time for any of the four components, even though parents were present at the team meeting where these decisions were rendered. The highest accuracy in parental reports was for the placement decision, while unclear or erroneous versions of decisions regarding eligibility, program goals, and review date were even more frequent. Results are interpreted in light of the amount of change demanded of local school systems to insure that parents are giving informed consent for special education planning and placement decisions.     

Children of Mentally Ill Parents Participating in Preventive Support Groups: Parental Diagnoses and Child Risk

In the Netherlands, preventive support groups are offered to children of mentally ill parents. Given the variety of parental diagnoses it might be questionable if offering a standardized program for all these children is the most effective response. While no overall knowledge exists about the type of parental disorder and varying risk levels and support needs among the participating children, we examined whether there are differences between these children that are related to their parents’ diagnoses. With questionnaires we assessed risk factors in 122 mentally ill parents and their children: high parental illness severity, low perceived parental competence, parent–child interaction problems, poor family functioning, difficult child temperament, and low child competence. We also assessed the children’s psychosocial problems and negative cognitions about their parent’s illness. Results showed that most parents had co-morbidity (multiple diagnoses) and/or personality disorders. Children of parents with either of these conditions were more likely to be exposed to the risk factors: high parental illness severity, low perceived parental competence, problematic parent–child interaction, and low perceived child competence, compared to children of parents without these conditions. They were also faced with more risk factors and had more psychosocial problems and negative cognitions. From these results we may conclude that children of parents with co-morbidity and/or personality disorders require more extensive support than children of parents without these conditions. We suggest strengthening the children’s competence and involving parents as important focuses of preventive interventions for children at high risk. Longitudinal studies should test these assumptions.     

Psychoeducation and expressed emotion by parents of children with learning disorders

The present study assessed use of a psychoeducation group program on expressed emotion, family functioning, and child behavior by parents of children with learning disorders. 81 parents of children with learning disorders were randomly assigned to a psychoeducation group program (n=46) or to a regular treatment group (n=35). A semistructured interview for parental expressed emotion, self-reports of family functioning, and child behavior were utilized at baseline and after an 8-session psychoeducation group program. Parents who attended the program differed significantly from parents in the regular treatment group on measures of criticism, warmth, and positive remarks, and overall expressed emotion, but not on measures of perceived family functioning and child behavior. Findings indicate a psychoeducation group program could be effective in helping parents to establish a more positive emotional climate in their relationships with their children who have learning disorders.     

Developing profiles of risk for parental abduction of children from a comparison of families victimized by abduction with families litigating custody.

This study systematically compared parents in abducting families with families litigating custody. Findings indicate that risks for parental abduction of children are multidetermined by: (1) a heightened concern about very young children being exposed to neglectful, endangering, or criminal environments by the other parent; (2) unsubstantiated allegations of sexual abuse; (3) heightened distrust of and less respect for law and authority; and (4) a reluctance to seek help from the courts. Abducting families were also predominantly socially and economically disadvantaged: parents were less likely to have been married to one another; they had lower incomes, were more poorly educated, and were disproportionately members of minority racial and ethnic groups. The social policy dilemmas of identifying these differences as risk factors are discussed together with suggestions for risk management.     

Sustained Effects of Incredible Years as a Preventive Intervention in Preschool Children with Conduct Problems

The present study evaluated preventive effects of the Incredible Years program for parents of preschool children who were at risk for a chronic pattern of conduct problems, in the Netherlands. In a matched control design, 72 parents of children with conduct problems received the Incredible Years program. These families (intervention group) were compared with 72 families who received care as usual (control group). Two years after termination of the intervention, it appeared that observed and selfrated parenting skills were significantly improved in the intervention group. Likewise, in this group, observed child conduct problems showed sustained intervention effects. The decrease in observed critical parenting mediated the decrease in observed child conduct problems over time. In addition, it appeared that parental influence increased over time.