Download this fact sheet: Focusing on the family in the prevention of drug-related harm [PDF: 37 KB]
Introduction
It is well known that parents can have a strong influence on young people’s choices and attitudes towards use of substances such as alcohol and other drugs. Other family members such as older siblings can also have a big influence. It makes sense, therefore, for drug prevention efforts to include programs that target the family as a whole.
This fact sheet explains the thinking behind family intervention in the prevention of drug-related harm. It also provides an introduction to strategies and programs to encourage healthy family development and communication.
What is family intervention?
Family intervention is defined as ‘one or more parents, children and other family members receiving information and/or a course of instruction together, aimed at encouraging healthy family development’.
Family intervention has been shown to be successful in encouraging communication and care within families, and healthy expectations that decrease the likelihood of young people taking up or increasing harmful use of alcohol or other drugs.
Family intervention can help to empower families to create their own solutions through open communication, often with the help of a facilitator such as a family counsellor. It can also be vital in providing families with accurate information and practical assistance to deal with issues such as problematic use of alcohol and other substances.
What are the strategies?
Family intervention strategies may be applicable to all families (universal) or they may be targeted to specific types of families, such as families with low incomes. Typical family intervention programs include:
- prevention of teenage pregnancy
- early family home visitation
- family therapies such as counselling, mediation and conciliation
- involvement of family members in an individual’s drug treatment program
- care and/or prevention programs for the children of people who have problems with alcohol or other drug use
- links and referrals to service providers and other community supports.
How do these programs prevent harmful drug use?
Pregnancy prevention
School-based sex education programs, designed to delay pregnancy in vulnerable young women, have been shown to be successful in also reducing harmful drug use among these young women. The flow-on effects are reduced exposure of babies to harmful drug use before and after birth.
Family home visitation
Family home visiting involves a professional such as a nurse offering support, information and advice on infant health and development, maternal health and referral to other services. Research on low income, unmarried and adolescent women having their first babies has shown that home visitation by a nurse can reduce the rates of smoking and alcohol use for the mothers during pregnancy, and can improve children’s development.
Family home visitation has been shown to be especially successful in Australia among young women with low incomes who have little or no partner support and who have problems with substance use.
Working with families in which one or both parents are in drug treatment
Family intervention programs have been successful in working with families in which one or both parents are undergoing treatment or rehabilitation for a drug use problem. As well as working on issues such as drug use relapse, the programs focus on strategies aimed at preventing children in the family from progressing to drug use.
This includes training parents in coping, anger management and communication skills, providing information about child development, and working on strategies such as holding family meetings, setting clear expectations for children and use of appropriate rewards and disciplinary consequences. Parents are also guided to teach their children drug refusal and problem-solving skills for school success.
Working with families in which a young person is in a drug treatment or juvenile justice setting
Family therapies, such as counselling the whole family when a young person has problems with the law or with substance use, can be effective in reducing re-offending, and in preventing offending among younger or non-using siblings.
Multi-systemic treatment (MST) is a form of family intervention which recognises that the family is only one of many influences on adolescent choices and behaviours. Used with families which have multiple or complex problems, MST has been shown to assist young people and their families in establishing treatment goals and objectives. It helps the individual to improve their competence, tackle peer relationship issues and to ensure access to work, education and community resources.
Targeting families in schools
Family intervention in the school setting is usually targeted to late primary or early high school students showing poor school performance and problems with substance use. A therapist holds weekly meetings with the student and his or her family. Early meetings focus on setting goals for improving academic and behavioural performance. The student and her or his family are then assisted toward achieving these goals.
The Families and Schools Together (FAST) program targets families whose children are identified by teachers as having behavioural, learning or attendance problems in late primary school. A counsellor visits the family at home with an invitation to participate in the program, which includes eight, weekly 2-hour meetings involving a number of families. Activities including meals, contests and prizes sometimes involve separate activities for parents and children. The program builds support for families within the school context, improving parents’ confidence, family relationships and communication skills.
What are the benefits of family intervention?
Family intervention can help both families and their individual members to:
- deal with alcohol and drug use issues as a family
- improve the family’s awareness and knowledge of the nature and effects of different illicit substances
- reduce drug-related harms
- encourage and support individuals through drug treatment programs
- improve communication and conflict resolution skills within the family
- prevent younger or non-using siblings in the family from taking up drug use.
Information and support
DirectLine (24 hrs, 7 days), tel. 1800 888 236
Youth Substance Abuse Service (24 hrs)
tel. 1800 014 446 for 12–21-year-olds
Family Drug Help, tel. 1300 660 068
A support service staffed by trained volunteers and professional counsellors