Parent Programs for Reducing Adolescent's Antisocial Behavior and Substance Use: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Camilla Jalling,Håkan Källmén,Anders Tengström,Anders Romelsjö,Maria Bodin,Natalie Durbeej

doi:10.1007/s10826-015-0263-y

Abstract

Two theoretically based parent training programs, delivered in real-world settings by the social services, were examined in this randomized controlled trial for effectiveness in reducing adolescents’ antisocial behavior and substance use. Two hundred and thirty-seven (237) adolescents in ages between 12 and 18 and their parents were assigned to one of two programs or to a wait-list control condition. The programs were the nine weekly group sessions program Comet 12–18 (Swedish Parent Management Training Program) and the six weekly ParentSteps (Swedish shortened version by Strengthening Families Program 10–14). Outcome measures were antisocial behavior, substance use, and delinquency, and psychosocial dysfunction. Data based on adolescents’ and parents’ ratings of the adolescents’ problem behavior at baseline and 6 months later were analyzed with repeated measures ANVOA, Logistic regression, and Kruskal–Wallis H test. The results showed that parents’ ratings of adolescents’ antisocial behaviors decreased significantly over time, but no time by group effect emerged. No program effects were found in the adolescents’ self-reported antisocial behavior, delinquency, or psychosocial functioning. A threefold risk of illicit drug use was found in both intervention groups. The results suggest that neither Comet nor ParentSteps had beneficial effects on adolescent’s antisocial or delinquent behavior, or on alcohol use. The only significant group difference found was a threefold risk of drug use in the intervention adolescents at follow-up, but for several reasons this finding should be interpreted with caution.Trial registration number: ISRCTN76141538.

Highlights

Antisocial behavior has been broadly defined as behavior that offends other individuals, property, social norms, or rules and laws (Bloomquist and Schnell 2002; Lahey and Waldman 2005)
There was no significant difference between measurement completers and those lost to follow-up regarding externalizing behavior (t = - 1.39, df = 237, p = .17), and there was no significant difference between conditions with regard to attrition rates (v2 (2) = 2.99, p = .22)
We found no significant differences between the groups, with exception of the Drug Use Disorder Identification Test (DUDIT) scores (Table 5)

Summary

Introduction

Antisocial behavior has been broadly defined as behavior that offends other individuals, property, social norms, or rules and laws (Bloomquist and Schnell 2002; Lahey and Waldman 2005). Younger children with antisocial behavior are known to be at elevated risk for continued problems and youth violence (Losel and Farrington 2012) as well as for poorer functioning in life domains such as education, employment, and personal relationships (Moffitt 1993). Against this background, early prevention has been suggested as an important policy with respect to childhood problem behavior (Welsh and Farrington 2007), and various interventions for parental support have been. Parent programs are offered within the social services, and in clinics, schools, youth clinics, and by non-governmental organizations, and they commonly aim at altering the parents’ behavior, improving their communication skills, and increasing their knowledge of how to promote their children’s prosocial behavior

Methods

Results

Conclusion