Parent-Child Communication Results From an Efficacy Trial of a Brief Family-Based Adolescent Substance Use Preventive...

To examine the efficacy of SUPPER (Substance Use Prevention Promoted by Eating family meals Regularly), a brief substance use (SU) preventive intervention that promotes family meals as a conduit for improving parent-child communication about SU.

Parents/guardians assigned to the intervention were asked to read a handbook, meet twice with an interventionist, and receive text messages. Control participants completed the same components but with content on physical activity, nutrition, and weight stigma. At 3-, 6-, 12-, and 18-month postrandomization, parents and children self-reported their frequency of conversations and targeted communication about substances (how to handle offers, rules to obey, etc.). Moderation by child's grade, race/ethnicity, and type of session were examined.

The average age of parents (n = 388) was 42.7 years, 88.2% were female and 60.6% were non-Hispanic White. Children's (n = 388) average age was 11.8 years, 51.5% were female and 55.2% were non-Hispanic White. At 3 months, parents in the intervention arm were significantly more likely to have talked more frequently with their child about all substances (statistical significance was not observed in children's reports), and significantly more likely to agree on having nine of 10 targeted communication items (statistical significance was observed in three of 10 child-reported items), compared to the control arm. Some effects were significant at 6 and 12 months. At 18 months, significant effects were observed for parent-reported frequency of conversations about drinking alcohol and some parent- and child-reported targeted communication items. No significant moderation effects were observed.

Over 18 months, Substance Use Prevention Promoted by Eating family meals Regularly was associated with an increased frequency of parent-child conversations and targeted communication about SU, specifically about alcohol.