Preventive Medicine
Volume 31, Issue 2 I, 2000, Pages 124-133

Evaluation of a tobacco and alcohol use prevention program for hispanic migrant adolescents: Promoting the protective factor of parent-child communication (Article)

Litrownik A.J.* , Elder J.P. , Campbell N.R. , Ayala G.X. , Slymen D.J. , Parra-Medina D. , Zavala F.B. , Lovato C.Y.
  • a SDSU/UCSD, Joint Doctoral Program In Clinical Psychology, United States
  • b Graduate School of Public Health, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA 92123, United States
  • c Graduate School of Public Health, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA 92123, United States
  • d SDSU/UCSD, Joint Doctoral Program In Clinical Psychology, United States
  • e Graduate School of Public Health, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA 92123, United States
  • f School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, United States
  • g Graduate School of Public Health, SDSU, United States, Hoover High School, San Diego, CA, United States
  • h Centre for Community Child Health Research, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Abstract

Background. Interventions designed to prevent tobacco and alcohol use targeting high-risk adolescents are limited. In addition, few studies have attempted to improve parent-child communication skills as a way of improving and maintaining healthy youth decision-making. Methods. A total of 660 Hispanic migrant families participated in a randomized pre-post control group study that was utilized to determine the impact of the intervention on parent-child communication. Both treatment and attention-control groups of youth were exposed to an eight-session culturally sensitive program presented by bilingual/bicultural college students. Parents jointly attended three of the eight sessions and participated in helping their child complete homework assignments supporting the content of each session. The content of the treatment intervention included (1) information about tobacco and alcohol effects, (2) social skills training (i.e., refusal skills), and (3) the specific development of parent-child communication skills to support healthy youth decisions. Results. Significant intervention by household size interactions for both parent and youth perceptions of communication were found indicating that the treatment was effective in increasing communication in families with fewer children. Based on the effect size and the previously established relationship between communication and susceptibility to tobacco and alcohol use, it was determined that the intervention effect could be translated into a future 5 to 10% decrease in susceptibility for these smaller families. Conclusions. A culturally sensitive family-based intervention for migrant Hispanic youth was found to be effective in increasing perceived parent-child communication in families with fewer children. It is expected that increases in this important protective factor will lead to later observed decreases in tobacco and alcohol use. (C) 2000 American Health Foundation and Academic Press.

Author Keywords

Hispanic Susceptibility communication Parental monitoring migrant Alcohol Adolescents tobacco

Index Keywords

controlled study ethnic group priority journal major clinical study tobacco dependence social support alcoholism alcohol consumption Article social adaptation smoking habit human child parent relation Adolescent
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-0033903712&doi=10.1006%2fpmed.2000.0698&partnerID=40&md5=ea4095732b93fb9776ebb41df20fbd17
DOI: 10.1006/pmed.2000.0698
ISSN: 00917435
Cited by: 55
Original Language: English