Evaluating interventions for children of substance using parents: A review of outcome measures

Abstract

Background: Critical evaluations that assess the effectiveness of community based interventions and present models of best practice for working with children of substance using parents are uncommon in the UK.

Method: A comprehensive literature search identified outcome measures suitable for research with this vulnerable population. This included measures for both children and their parents to ensure that outcomes are contextualised in relation to parental behaviour and home environment.

Results: Seventeen outcome measures suitable for use with children and seven measures for use with substance using parents are presented. Issues relating to measurement selection are then discussed.

Conclusions: This article highlights the need for the use of better measures to assess community based interventions in the UK to inform the development of services for children affected by parental substance use.

• Children
• substance dependence
• parents
• service provision
• evaluation
• intervention

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.

Notes

Notes

1. Cronbach alpha (α) scores are shown in Tables II and III.