Teaching Parenting Skills in a Methadone Treatment Setting (Research Note) (Report‪)‬

Family factors significantly affect children's risk of substance abuse, delinquency, and other problem behaviors (Arthur, Hawkins, Pollard, Catalano, & Baglioni, 2002). Children of substance abusers represent a particularly high-risk population. Prenatal exposure to addictive substances and the medical complications that may arise are important factors that, from conception, place this population at high risk of drug abuse and other problem behaviors (Griffith, Azuma, & Chasnoff, 1994). As children of substance abusers mature, their lives are characterized by exposure to continued drug and alcohol abuse by family members, recurrent or chronic illnesses, frequent moves, financial troubles, legal conflicts, family disorganization, and family conflict (Keller, Catalano, Haggerty, & Fleming, 2002; Kolar, Brown, Haertzen, & Michaelson, 1994). Furthermore, substance-abusing parents tend to have poorer family management practices than nonabusers (Kolar et al.). Substance-abusing parents in treatment are dealing not only with their addiction, the possibility of relapse, and struggles with employment and living arrangements, but also with their role as parents and the influence of their addiction on their children (Greif, 2005). Parenting skills training is increasingly used as a preventive intervention (see reviews by Cedar & Levant, 1990; Howard & Shepard, 2005; Polster, Dangel, & Rasp, 1987). Several programs have been developed to help substance-abusing parents reduce their children's risk of substance abuse (Camp & Finkelstein, 1997; Catalano, Haggerty, Fleming, Brewer, & Gainey, 2002; Dawe, Harnett, Rendalls, & Staiger, 2003; DeMarsh & Kumpfer, 1985; Gross & McCaul, 1992).Theoretical and empirical work suggests that methadone maintenance programs may be a strategic setting for parenting skills training programs because methadone has been shown to reduce illicit heroin use and criminal activity and to provide greater stability in the lives of users (Ward, Mattick, & Hall, 1998). Methadone treatment by itself, however, is unlikely to ameliorate dysfunctional family relationships. To date, only a few programs for this population have been evaluated for their effect on improving parenting skills (Dawe et al.; DeMarsh & Kumpfer).