Non Violent Resistance parent training and adolescent substance misuse

Abstract

Adolescent substance misuse is increasingly being viewed as a systemic problem and several studies have shown the benefit of increased parental involvement. This article describes the evaluation of a ten‐week Non‐Violent Resistance (NVR) group parent training programme delivered within a Young People’s Specialist Substance Misuse Treatment Service. Eighteen participants completed questionnaires before and after the programme, and at follow‐up. Eight participants also took part in semi‐structured interviews. Parents reported experiencing the programme as unique and helpful, and highlighted some challenges. Measures of parental self‐efficacy and goal‐based outcomes showed significant improvement at the end of the programme, and improvement in parental self‐efficacy remained significant at follow‐up. This evaluation provides preliminary evidence that NVR parent training may be a useful intervention in this context. However, the generalisability of the data is limited and further research is needed.Practitioner points Non‐Violent Resistance parent training helps parents resist their child’s behaviour, manage their own emotional reactions, and recruit supporters from their wider network Qualitative data suggests that parents who have attended this programme experience additional benefits to those found in qualitative evaluations of other parenting interventions A group training programme delivered within a Young People’s Specialist Substance Misuse Treatment Service improves parents’ self‐efficacy and helps them achieve their goals for their children