Brief family intervention effects on adolescent substance initiation: school-level growth curve analyses 6 years following baseline.
This study examines the effects of 2 brief family-focused interventions on the trajectories of substance initiation over a period of 6 years following a baseline assessment. The 2 interventions, designed for general-population families of adolescents, were the 7-session Iowa Strengthening Families Program (ISFP) (Molgaard & Spoth, 2001) and the 5-session Preparing for the Drug Free Years Program (PDFY) (Catalano, Kosterman, Haggerty, Hawkins, & Spoth, 1999). Thirty-three rural public schools were randomly assigned to the ISFP, the PDFY, or a minimal-contact control condition. The authors evaluated the curvilinear growth observed in school-level measures of initiation using a logistic growth curve analysis. Alcohol and tobacco composite use indices--as well as lifetime use of alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana--and lifetime drunkenness, were examined. Significant intervention-control differences were observed, indicating favorable delays in initiation in the intervention groups.
Spoth
Richard
R
Partnerships in Prevention Science Institute, Iowa State University, Ames 50010-8296, USA. rlspoth@iastate.edu
Redmond
Cleve
C
Shin
Chungyeol
C
Azevedo
Kari
K
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D005196:Family Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D011614:Psychotherapy, Brief / Q000379:methods*; D013334:Students; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*