The authors present a research study examining the effects of two brief, family-focused interventions on substance-use initiation; they note their research methodology and outcomes, and discuss research implications regarding the intervention programs.
This study examines the effects of two brief, family-focused interventions on the trajectories of substance initiation over a period of six years following a baseline assessment. The two interventions, designed for general-population families of adolescents, were the seven-session Iowa Strengthening Families Program (ISFP) and the five-session Preparing for the Drug Free Years Program (PDFY). 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. The authors examined alcohol and tobacco composite-use indices, as well as lifetime use of alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana-and lifetime drunkenness. Significant intervention-control differences were observed, indicating favorable delays in initiation in the intervention groups. Publisher Abstract Provided