1 / 22

FAMILY INTERVENTIONS FOR RUNAWAY YOUTH

FAMILY INTERVENTIONS FOR RUNAWAY YOUTH. David E. Pollio, PhD; Sanna J. Thompson, PhD; Norweeta Milburn, PhD. THE FAMILY: AN IMPORTANT FACTOR IN SUCCESSFUL YOUTH OUTCOMES. Less likely to use substances Less likely to have legal problems Decreased days on the run.

licia
Download Presentation

FAMILY INTERVENTIONS FOR RUNAWAY YOUTH

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. FAMILY INTERVENTIONS FOR RUNAWAY YOUTH David E. Pollio, PhD; Sanna J. Thompson, PhD; Norweeta Milburn, PhD

  2. THE FAMILY: AN IMPORTANT FACTOR IN SUCCESSFUL YOUTH OUTCOMES • Less likely to use substances • Less likely to have legal problems • Decreased days on the run Youth returning home after a runaway episode are: Pollio, Thompson & North, 2001

  3. HOWEVER… • substance use decreased likelihood of returning home post shelter discharge, including use of stimulants (OR=.10), depressants (OR=.22) and multiple substances (OR=.36). • involvement with legal system decreased likelihood of returning home, including being on probation (OR=.70), in DJS custody (OR=.10), and involvement in prostitution (OR=.34) Thompson, Safyer, & Pollio, 2001; Thompson, Pollio & Bitner, 2000

  4. MODEL OF SHELTER “SUCCESS” Nebbitt, House, Thompson & Pollio, In press HOME SHELTER RETURN HOME Youth Acting Out Child experiences Structure & Freedom Family experiences Respite Youth returns home Parents at Wits End Family Reconnected & Re-involved Family system Disrupted

  5. FAMILY RE-INVOLVED “Sometimes it’s the first chance they have to talk with their families …a lot of it is around communication, not being able to understand where the other person is coming from, a child, a parent, either one...they start talking to each other more, and whether it’s good communication or bad communication, if they’re even talking to each other as opposed to yelling and screaming and creating chaos, that’s one step towards … making a positive change at home.”-- Shelter Staff

  6. AT THE SHELTER POST-DISCHARGE Youth doing well: -Focus on youth problems Youth doing well: -Youth gives socially desirable responses -Family normalizes Shelter Stay Youth doing badly: -Focus on family/ environment -Family fewer resources Youth doing badly: -No socially desirable responses -Family remains negative

  7. FAMILY NORMALIZES • Before: “…she was constantly keeping chaos up between me and my mom…constantly giving problems at school and she was sneaking and doing things…being very disagreeable.” • After: “Well, the main thing is just for me to give her a chance and…start the slate off clean. And I’ve stopped bringing up the past, because the past is in the past…I’m dealing with what she’s doing now and trying to gear up towards continuing to do better.” -family member

  8. STUDY PURPOSE • To present three NIH-funded new interventions aimed at families of runaway and homeless youth

  9. INTERVENTIONS

  10. RHY-PERF (PsychoEducation Responsive to Family for Runaway Homeless Youth)PI: Pollio • Home-based, engagement focused family therapyPI: Thompson • Project STRIVE (Support to Reunite, Involve, and Value Each other)PI: Milburn

  11. Psycho-EducationResponsive to Families For Runaway- Homeless Youth (RHY- PERF) • youth recruited at shelter, groups conducted post-discharge • meets twice monthly for 6 months • facilitated by social worker and psychiatric specialist • families choose curriculum in first session (“family responsive”) • curriculum provided through manual, thus assuring quality of information

  12. Psycho-EducationResponsive to Families For Runaway- Homeless Youth (RHY- PERF) Structure of each session 1. Recent experiences (15 minutes) 2. Lecture on topic chosen by family (20 minutes) 3. Discussion of how topic impacts on family life (20 minutes) 4. Brainstorming on strategies to address topic (20 minutes) 5. Wrap-up (5 minutes) North, et al., 1997; Pollio, North & Osborne, 2002

  13. HOME-BASED, ENGAGEMENT FOCUSED FAMILY THERAPY • Home-based family therapy intervention to prevent/reduce youth substance use. • Eighteen “Engagement Activities” were developed • one activity was implemented during each of 12 sessions delivered to families in the home.

  14. Examples of “Engagement Activities” • Meaningful Events • recording/sharing memories of events that were meaningful to parent and youth • Downward Spiral • board game that takes players on a journey that is plagued with pitfalls of drug use • Garbage Bag • family decorates a bag together and writes on slips of paper personal qualities or hurtful feelings that each person wants to overcome – bag is disposed. • Rush Hour Traffic Jam • get a designated car out of a congested game board requires the family members working together • 3-D Storytelling • Play-doh is used to create 3-dimensional characters and develop a story about these characters as a family

  15. Project STRIVE: Support to Reunite, Involve and Value Each Other • Runaway behavior: Response to unresolved family conflict • Family intervention • Family strengths • Problem solving • Conflict negotiation • Role clarification • 5 sessions

  16. Adaptation of SNAP (Successful Negotiation, Acting Positive)* • Cognitive-behavioral/family systems intervention *SNAP focuses on improving conflict resolution strategies, eliminating suicide attempts as a method of resolving future conflict, promoting positive family interaction, and reframing the family’s understanding of their problems.

  17. Project STRIVE:Sessions 1 – Create positive family atmosphere 2 – Identifying problem situation 3 – Analysis of medium size problem 4 – Cope, negotiate, and problem solve 5 – Evaluate solutions and problem solve

  18. DISCUSSION

  19. CHALLENGES • Racial/ethnic diversity • Identification of appropriate families • Recruitment • Determining success • Addressing multiple needs/problems in limited intervention • Coordination of care

  20. CAVEATS… • Family interventions are not appropriate for all runaway youth… • Families must be involved and appropriate • Youth with longer history of more severe problems are probably less likely to benefit from brief interventions • Both family and youth must be motivated to participate

  21. MULTIPLE POPULATIONS Youth in crisis: first episode(s) of running away; family involved Family in crisis: multiple challenges across family system Street youth: no available family; “independent” or “throwaway” youth Homeless families: entire family together in homelessness

  22. CONTACT INFORMATION • David E Pollio, PhDWashington University in St Louis depollio@wustl.edu • Sanna Thompson, PhDUniversity of Texas at Austin sannathompson@mail.utexas.edu • Norweeta Milburn, PhDUniversity of California at Los Angeles nmilburn@mednet.ucla.edu

More Related