Including the Siblings of Youth Substance Abusers in a Parent-Focused Intervention: A Pilot Test of the Best Plus Program

Substance use is common among young people and can escalate into significant problems for affected individuals and their families. Family responses can influence the course of youth substance use and its consequences for family members, including parents and siblings. Family-level interventions deve...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of psychoactive drugs 2008-09, Vol.40 (3), p.281-291
Main Authors: Bamberg, John H., Toumbourou, John W., Marks, Richard
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Addictive behaviors
Adolescent
Adult
Adult and adolescent clinical studies
Behavior
Biological and medical sciences
Child
Drug addiction
Families & family life
family therapy
Family Therapy - methods
Female
Humans
Male
Medical sciences
Parents & parenting
Parents - psychology
Pilot Projects
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Siblings - psychology
Substance-Related Disorders - rehabilitation
Teenagers
Young Adult
youth substance use
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Substance use is common among young people and can escalate into significant problems for affected individuals and their families. Family responses can influence the course of youth substance use and its consequences for family members, including parents and siblings. Family-level interventions developed to date have neglected the important role that siblings can play. This article describes a pilot test of an intervention designed to assist parents and siblings affected by youth substance use and related problems. The BEST Plus intervention consisting of professionally-led, multifamily groups sequenced over eight sessions is described with reference to the intended therapeutic processes. Professionally observed and self-reported changes for family participants including siblings suggested that the program had a beneficial therapeutic impact. This evaluation of early impacts suggests the BEST Plus program offers a promising means of assisting families to respond to substance use problems in young people.
ISSN:0279-1072
2159-9777
DOI:10.1080/02791072.2008.10400643