Prevention Works!

Parenting as Prevention: Maximizing Program Success

From infancy through their teenage years, children learn responsible behaviors from parents or other caregiving adults in their lives. What parents do--the rules they establish, the behaviors they value, the feelings they nurture--provides the basic foundation for a child’s future.

Studies have directly linked parental behavior and lifestyle with a child’s inclination to use alcohol, tobacco, or drugs. Recent findings from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health showed that children who have access to tobacco, alcohol, or illicit substances were more likely to use these substances. Those who had strong bonds with their parents and who had parents home during critical times such as waking up, after school, and at dinner and bedtime were less likely to be users (JAMA 1997).

Prevention planners can strengthen programming efforts by acknowledging parents’ critical role in shaping children’s lives. They can work with youth and adults to coordinate approaches that truly facilitate parenting as prevention. Because of social and culture shifts in our society, it is important to recognize that traditional ideas about parental figures have broadened to include single and divorced parents, extended family members, and for some children, teachers and mentors.

A family awareness prevention program should include specific parenting components that identify and address key risk factors such as:

• substance abuse in the family
• inconsistent or overly harsh discipline
• a lack of closeness between a parent and child.

In addition, prevention programs should encourage the growth of protective factors that can positively influence a child’s life. These factors may include:

• developing strong bonds within the family
• spending quality time with parents
• reinforcing desirable behavior and punishing unacceptable behavior.

Experience reveals that prevention efforts addressing parenting issues within core program frameworks will produce positive results for participating youth. Prevention strategies can be targeted toward three key areas to help parents and their children:

• Family friendly environments can provide social, emotional, and structural support. Strategies such as home visits to parents of newborns and work policies that allow for flexible hours serve to ease daily family stresses while promoting positive relationships among family members.
• Practical information and training can enhance parents’ caregiving skills. Training can address bonding, supervisory, and disciplinary practices that ensure good communication between parents and youth.
• Linking parents and concerned community members with each other can build a more protective community environment. Training can focus on what entire communities can do to reduce children’s access to substances and help establish communal guidelines for appropriate supervision of parties.

This Alert is the first in a series of three that discuss maximizing parents’ role as the first line of defense in successful prevention efforts. Future Alerts will focus on specific strategies and model programs.

Source: Resnick, M.D., P.S. Bearman, R.W. Blum, K.E. Bauman, K.M. Harris, J. Jones, et al. 1997. Protecting adolescents from harm: Findings from the National Longitudinal Study on Adolescent Health. Journal of the American Medical Association, 278 (10/September 10), 823-832.

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