An evidence-based substance abuse preventive intervention for youth with psychiatric disorders: Initial results

Despite the high prevalence of tobacco and other substance use among youth with psychiatric disorders, we found no studies that examined the differential effects of prevention programs for youth with and without psychiatric disorders and no programs designed specifically for this population. However, based on the identification of key program characteristics from a community development team and a review of evidence-based prevention programs, the Strengthening Families Program (SFP) (Spoth, et al., 2004) was identified as a potentially feasible and effective intervention for youth with psychiatric disorders. Following a feasibility study (Koch et al., 2008), a pilot study was conducted employing a treatment (n=13)-control group (n=9) design with pre, post and 3 month follow-up assessments. SFP is a manualized intervention that includes seven weekly family sessions and is educational and skill building in focus. Youth participants were 10 to 14 years old who had received mental health services within the past year. Results indicate that: 1) it is possible to recruit participants from this population; 2) it is possible to maintain participation (all participants completed the program and the pre and post assessments); 3) implementation obstacles including writing problems and the need for a behavior management program existed for our samples; 4) there were few significant differences in the pre-post measures and no overall trends. Overall, the results indicate that SFP is a feasible model for youth with psychiatric disorders; however, the post-intervention measures suggest that more than SFP may be needed to effectively prevent substance use in this population.