This proposed FIRST project will continue Dr. Stanger's programmatic research on children of drug abusers. The purpose of this study is to identify predictors of adolescent drug use and its correlates among children of dug abusers. Previous research has shown that children of parents receiving treatment for drug abuse are at greater risk for behavioral/emotional problems than matched comparison groups. In particular, children of drug abusers are at risk for conduct problems that are associated with early and persistent drug use. However, not all children of drug abusers show behavioral/emotional problems at the time of their parent's treatment for drug abuse. This project aims to identify risk and protective factors for the onset an persistence of drug use among children of drug abusers. Candidate predictors will include severity of parental drug abuse, family environment and parenting, child behavioral/emotional problems and deviant attitudes, peer influences, and demographic variables. We will assess children's behavioral/emotional problems, drug use, and antisocial behavior via standardized rating forms from: (1) a parent or parent figure who is receiving treatment for drug abuse; (2) a second parent figure in the home; 93) the child's teacher and (4) children age 11 years and older. Study sites included Burlington, VT, Houston, Philadelphia, New York, and Denver. This study will extend and expand findings from Dr. Stanger's NIDA small grant project. Advances in this First proposal includes assessing the children directly, assessing important mediators and moderators of parental drug abuse on children's problems, assessing drug abuse and delinquency outcomes, and assessing similar constructs at both Time 1 and Time 2. The project includes three components: (1) in Years 1-5, we will do a cross-sectional assessment of 2-18-year-old children of drug abusers; (2) in Years 2 through 5, we will do a prospective 1-year follow-up of children aged 11-18 years; and (3) in Year 1, we will do longitudinal follow-up of all children aged 1-18 years from Dr. Stanger's NIDA small grant project who were originally assessed in 1995 and 1996. Findings will be used to develop preventative interventions for children.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Type
First Independent Research Support & Transition (FIRST) Awards (R29)
Project #
5R29DA010821-02
Application #
2898110
Study Section
Human Development Research Subcommittee (NIDA)
Program Officer
Chambers, Jessica Campbell
Project Start
1998-06-05
Project End
2003-05-31
Budget Start
1999-06-01
Budget End
2000-05-31
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
1999
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Vermont & St Agric College
Department
Psychiatry
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
066811191
City
Burlington
State
VT
Country
United States
Zip Code
05405
Burstein, Marcy; Stanger, Catherine; Dumenci, Levent (2012) Relations between parent psychopathology, family functioning, and adolescent problems in substance-abusing families: disaggregating the effects of parent gender. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 43:631-47
Burstein, Marcy; Stanger, Catherine; Kamon, Jody et al. (2006) Parent psychopathology, parenting, and child internalizing problems in substance-abusing families. Psychol Addict Behav 20:97-106
Stanger, Catherine; Dumenci, Levent; Kamon, Jody et al. (2004) Parenting and children's externalizing problems in substance-abusing families. J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol 33:590-600
Stanger, Catherine; Kamon, Jody; Dumenci, Levent et al. (2002) Predictors of internalizing and externalizing problems among children of cocaine and opiate dependent parents. Drug Alcohol Depend 66:199-212