Promoting resilience for children of parents with opioid use disorder: A pilot study of a directed intervention

Having a parent with Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) is a childhood adverse experience (ACE), magnified by other accompanying ACEs. Outcomes for these children tend to include developing mental illness and/or Substance Use Disorders themselves. Few studies address these children's experiences and needs. Without child-focused interventions to foster their resilience, generational ramifications of the OUD crisis will persist.

Nine children (ages 12-17), in Department of Social Services' custody, participated in this pilot study. The intervention delivered was Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration's Children's Program Kit (CPK): Supportive Education for Children of Addicted Parents. Measures included OUD knowledge pre/posttests and the Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale (BERS-2).

Findings from paired-samples t tests showed a significant increase in youth OUD knowledge from pre to posttest. Affective strength on the parent version (foster parent or social worker's perception of participant) and overall strength index on the youth's version BERS-2 increased significantly from pre to posttest. Career strength, a separate strength index, showed significant increased scores on both youth and parent BERS-2 versions pre to posttest.

Results support Psychiatric Mental Health nurses to lead development and implementation of interventions, such as the CPK, with a strength-based approach to promote the knowledge and resilience of these children.