A church-based prevention intervention for adolescents with a drug abusing parent

Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore MD

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY Drug dependence is one of the most serious national public health problems, affecting millions of individuals and their families. African-American families experience disproportionate rates of negative health and social consequences of drug abuse, even though they use drugs at rates comparable to or lower than those of European-Americans. African-American children of drug abusers are at an extremely high risk for a range of problems throughout childhood and into adulthood. Many African-American families affected by drug abuse attend church, but integrated interventions for adolescents with a drug-abusing parent have not diffused to congregations. Effective implementation of integrated prevention interventions is critical to reducing the burden of substance use disorders and directly improving public health. This Career Development Award (K01) will allow me to obtain the additional mentoring, training and skills to achieve my long-term career goal of becoming an independent investigator with expertise in designing, implementing and evaluating prevention interventions for vulnerable African-American adolescents through partnerships with churches. This K01 proposal extends my previous research conducting church-based adolescent sexual health research and aligns with the future directions of addiction medicine and prevention research. My three training objectives are to: (1) obtain comprehensive training in the etiology of substance use among urban African-American families; (2) develop expertise in the theoretical underpinnings, processes and mechanisms of intervention development and adaptation; and (3) become proficient in implementing and evaluating randomized clinical trials using advanced statistical techniques. I will achieve these goals through didactic experiences, participation in professional conferences, directed readings, and experiential learning opportunities under the mentorship of a team of experts in relevant fields of study. This mentoring and training will directly contribute to the proposed research, which is designed to prevent substance use and sexual health risk behaviors among urban African-American adolescents (ages 13-16) with a drug- abusing parent through partnerships with Black churches. There are three specific aims laid out in the research plan to: (1) identify the opportunities and barriers (including stigma-related barriers) for engaging adolescents with a drug-abusing parent in prevention programs and health services; (2) adapt the evidence- based intervention, Focus on Youth with Informed Parents and Children Together (FOY+ImPACT) to be a church-based, targeted intervention for adolescents with a drug-abusing parent; and (3) conduct a pilot study to assess the feasibility and initial efficacy of the adapted church-based prevention intervention for adolescents with a drug-abusing parent. Findings from the proposed research will lay the foundation for collaborative efforts that facilitate Black churches' provision of evidence-based prevention interventions to vulnerable youth, including, but not limited to, adolescents with a drug-abusing parent, homeless youth, as well as youth involved in the foster care and juvenile justice systems. In the final year of this K01 award period, I will submit a R01 proposal to NIDA to conduct a Phase II randomized controlled trial of the adapted intervention.