The Unintended Effects of Reducing Youth Substance Use: Decreasing Heavy Drinking in Parents

• In Event: 043 - Section on Alcohol, Drugs, and Tobacco Roundtable Session (one-hour).
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 04. Social Factors and Substance Use

Abstract

Objective: To assess the impact of a parenting intervention, Familias: Preparando la Nueva Generación (FPNG), intended to support children, on parents heavy drinking. We hypothesized that parent participants of FPNG would reduce their heavy drinking at one year follow-up. Methods: Parents (N=281) of middle school children from a large, low income metropolitan area in the Southwest US participated in a randomized control trial over two years. Results: A logistic regression analysis using the maximum likelihood test determined that at wave 3, parents receiving FPNG reduced heavy drinking behaviors compared to parents in the youth only condition (OR=.86, p<.05). Conclusions: Participating in the parenting program can effectively curb heavy drinking behaviors in parents– an important mechanism through which one may expect changes in youth risk behavior. The practice, policy and research implications of these unintended findings are promising to the overall effectiveness of a parenting intervention for Mexican heritage families.

Authors

• Stephanie Ayers, Arizona State University

• Lela Rankin Williams, Arizona State University

• Flavio Marsiglia, Arizona State University

• Adrienne Baldwin, Arizona State University