The Effectiveness of a Combined Child and Parenting Intervention in Changing the Attitudes and Norms about Substance Use Among Latino Middle School Youth

Background: Latinos are the fastest growing segment of the population in the United States, and they report a significantly higher lifetime marijuana, cocaine, ecstasy, and injected illegal drug use among Latino adolescents relative to their non-Latino White counterparts (SAMSHA, 2011). Substance abuse prevention research and practice that includes both families and youth are not new (Austin, Macgowan, & Wagner, 2005) but there is a lack of evidence about what works, where, and for whom. This study advances knowledge about the effectiveness of applying a community based efficacious parenting intervention in parallel with an efficacious child intervention in changing substance abuse norms among preadolescent Latino youth.  

Methods: The study (2012-2017) employed a longitudinal, randomized control group design comparing three groups: (1) Parenting Program (i.e., a 10-week substance use prevention program for parents to assist their youth in resisting drugs and alcohol), plus child program (i.e., a 10-week substance use prevention program for youth; PY); (2) Parenting Program only (PO); and (3) Treatment as usual (i.e., parents participated in a standard parenting program, and the children received the usual drug use prevention offered at their schools; TAU).

Data from both parents and children at the19 participating schools were collected at pre-test, post-test, and two follow-up (8 & 20 months after the pre-test). The total sample includes 532 families (parent-child dyads), about 177 families per intervention condition. The parent-child dyads consist of one parent and one youth ages 12-14.  The retention rates for both parents and children were high across the different waves of data collection (79%-96%). 

We used multiple imputation to address the missing data (m=20). Multi-group propensity score matching method was used to reduce the potential sample selection bias. We adopted a three-fold analysis strategy to triangulate the results (i.e., present regression results based on raw data; on imputed data, and on imputed and propensity score full matched data).

Results.  Findings indicate that compared to the TAU group, adolescents in the PY and PO group showed significant increases in anti-drug descriptive norms (e.g., adolescent’s perception surrounding substance use of kids at school), as well as peer anti-drug norms (e.g., adolescent’s perception of the anticipated approval or disapproval from friends). The strengthening of these norms were particularly salient for both groups at 20 months after the pre-test.  Neither the PY nor the PO group were significantly different from the TAU group in strengthening personal or parental norms over time.  

Conclusions. These findings make a significant contribution in advancing knowledge on family/youth substance use prevention for Latinos in a community environment. Intervening with Latino parents produced strong desired effects on the youth’s norms. This suggests that intervening just with parents produces the same pattern and strength of results as complementary youth and parent interventions. This finding suggests FPNG only is a meaningful and cost-effective intervention to reduce health disparities among Latino adolescents. Although the study took place in a specific urban center in the Southwest United States, its findings can be generalized to other urban communities of similar characteristics across the country.