REDUCING PARENTAL RISK-FACTORS FOR CHILDRENS SUBSTANCE MISUSE - PRELIMINARY OUTCOMES WITH OPIATE-ADDICTED PARENTS

Parents in methadone treatment were offered an experimental interventi on, Focus on Families, designed to reduce their risk of relapse and th eir children's risk of substance use. Experimentally assigned voluntee rs participated in systematic group training in relapse prevention and parenting skills, and received home-based case management services. I mmediate posttreatment outcome results reported here include analyses of covariance controlling for baseline measures. Analyses show experim ental parents held more family meetings to discuss family fun, display ed stronger refusal/relapse coping skills, demonstrated stronger sense of self-efficacy in role-play situations, and had lower levels of opi ate use than control subjects. No significant differences in family bo nding, family conflict, or other measures of drug use were found. The utility of intervening with drug-addicted parents in methadone treatme nt is discussed in light of these findings.