Substance Abuse and Family Intervention

There are a number of substance abuse family-based intervention and prevention factors that have been identified that contribute to the risk for or protection against initiation of substance abuse as children move from childhood into early adolescence.

This article reports results from an experimental test of the effects of Preparing for the Drug Free Years (PDFY) on targeted parental behaviors. PDFY seeks to reduce risks and enhance protection against early substance abuse initiation by improving patterns of parental behavior and family interaction. The sample consisted of economically stressed, rural Midwestern families. The program increased substance abuse family-based prevention measures such as proactive communications between parents and children. Specifically, following the program, intervention group mothers exhibited more proactive communications in general and in problem solving tasks and less negative interactions with their children than did the control group mothers. Substance abuse family intervention group fathers exhibited significantly more proactive communications with children in problem solving situations than did the control group fathers.

Information released by the National Institute on Drug Abuse

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