None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
Approximately 10% of children under the age of 18 reside with at least one parent who has a substance use disorder. For parents seeking treatment for substance use disorder, this increases to more than 25%. There can be a social stigma associated with using both legal and illegal substances while caring for a child. This does not necessarily mean parents/caregivers who use substances are malicious or unable to care for their child. However, it is often common sense that, for those bearing the task of raising a child, managing their own Alcohol and/or Other Drug (AOD) use and seeking treatment can make parenting/caregiving even more challenging. This project aims to trial and co-develop a group-based pilot parenting program developed for adults seeking treatment for their substance use from AOD services who are also parents/caregivers of one or more children aged 5 to 11. The aim of the plot intervention is to increase the use of effective parenting skills in this population to support parent-child positive interaction and aid in children's positive and healthy developmental outcomes. In this respect, the Alcohol and Drug Assessment Unit (ADAU) at the Princess Alexandra Hospital believes there is a moral imperative to include parents seeking treatment for substance use in the development of parenting programs that are relevant to this population. This is because these parents with substance use disorders often lack a clear voice or perceived legitimacy of their values and concerns in relation to caring for their families. Thus, the outcome here will be a brief group-based parenting support program developed by experts in consultation with parents who seek treatment for their AOD use. This program could, therefore, be offered as front-line treatment for adults in integrated AOD treatment services.
Interventions
The present project involves a feasibility trial to test the suitability and effectiveness of a brief group-based parenting support program developed by experts in consultation with patients and Addiction Treatment Service offering front-line treatment in adult clinical services. The test of the suitability of the intervention refers to two aspects. The first aspect is the logistics and relevance of integrating parenting support within an Addiction Treatment Service from both the service and the
The present project involves a feasibility trial to test the suitability and effectiveness of a brief group-based parenting support program developed by experts in consultation with patients and Addiction Treatment Service offering front-line treatment in adult clinical services. The test of the suitability of the intervention refers to two aspects. The first aspect is the logistics and relevance of integrating parenting support within an Addiction Treatment Service from both the service and the consumers' standpoints. The second aspect is consulting patients on the relevance and adequacy of the content addressed in the group intervention to the needs for parenting support, as identified by the research participants who will have received the intervention. The test of the effectiveness of the intervention refers to the stability of pre- vs. post-intervention assessment surveys as well as follow-ups (2 weeks, 6 weeks, and 12 weeks). A summary of the content of the program includes addressing both parenting and substance use-related topics such as self-assessment and reflection on the impact of substance use on parenting, motivational interviewing to aid in treatment engagement and motivation to reduce substance use and use positive parenting skills, parent-child interaction and relationship, child behaviour management skills, family trauma, parental distress tolerance, and associated guilt and shame. The complete group-based parent intervention pilot program has a total of 5 hours that will be delivered in two group sessions of 2.5 hours each. The two group sessions will be conducted in two consecutive days to maximize the participants' motivation and increase adherence to the program. The delivery modality of the groups includes interactive activities such as discussions, role-plays, videos, and hypothetical vignettes followed by reflections. They also include educational materials such as short questionnaires and hand-out materials that participants can take home. After the group intervention, the co-development part of the study begins. This consists of a semi-structured qualitative interview with each participant to collect their feedback and suggestions on the intervention. This interview will be conducted in person or online (phone or video call) by a psychologist researcher different from the person who delivered the intervention. A summary of the content of this intervention includes reports of their experience with the intervention delivery modality and the relevance of the topics addressed to their parenting needs in the context of managing their substance use and treatment. As it is a requirement that the participants are engaged with the substance use treatment within the service in which they will have been recruited, specific strategies to monitor adherence to this feasibility trial are not applicable.
Sponsors
The University of Queensland
Study design
Allocation
Non-randomised trial
Primary purpose
Educational / counselling / training
Masking
Open (masking not used)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to 70 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
- Aged 18 or above. - Parenting at least one child aged between 5 to 11 - Presented to the AOD service seeking treatment for themselves about an AOD-related problem in the past two weeks and are parents/caregivers who have at least one child under their care. - The World Health Organisation (WHO) Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) score either equal to or greater than 10 for alcohol use or equal to or greater than 4 on the ASSIST for illicit drug use (WHO ASSIST Working Group, 2002)
Exclusion criteria
- Not fluent in spoken or written English - Current high suicide risk (current intent and plan) - Current psychosis - Currently in acute alcohol or drug withdrawal
Outcome results
None listed