Multi-court Trial of NBP to Prevent Substance Abuse and Mental Health Disorders (MTC)

Plain-language summary

This application requests funding to conduct a randomized effectiveness trial of The New Beginnings Program (NBP) delivered through a partnership of domestic relations courts, community service providers and the NBP research team. This is the first attempt to offer the population of families seeking divorce an evidence-based prevention program shown to have long-term effects on youth problem outcomes. It is estimated that over a third of U.S. children experience parental divorce, which confers elevated risk for multiple problems in childhood and adulthood including substance use and abuse, smoking, mental health problems, high risk sexual behavior, and physical health problems. Efficacy trials of the NBP found positive effects at post-test, 6-year and 15-year follow-ups. For example, at 6-year follow-up the participation in NBP led to reductions in marijuana, drug and alcohol use and a 37% reduction in prevalence of diagnosed mental disorder; and reductions in externalizing problems, internalizing problems and high risk sexual behavior. Positive effects also occurred for grade point average (GPA) and self esteem. For many of the effects of the NBP, the effects were stronger for youth who were at higher risk at program entry. Many of the program effects were mediated through the program effects to strengthen parenting. Funded by an Advanced Center for Intervention and Services Research grant (NIMH P30 MH068685) the investigators modified the NBP to translate it from a prototype tested in efficacy trials into a program that can be effectively delivered by community service providers and one that is appropriate across diverse cultural groups, and fathers as well as mothers. Pilot testing of the modified NBP and training and monitoring systems has demonstrated that they are highly acceptable to parents and providers. The investigators also developed and experimentally tested a system of parent recruitment that was found to be effective in getting parents to enroll (sign up to participate) in the NBP but, similar to other prevention parenting programs, initiation (attendance at one or more sessions) in the NBP in the pilot was low.

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