New Resource to Help Parents Confront Youth Drug Use

Treatment Research Institute Provides the Science Behind Interactive “How To” Resource Developed by the Partnership for a Drug Free America

Parents who feel helpless when they see (or think they see) signs of drug or alcohol use in their kids have a new place to turn, thanks to Time to Act, a science-based multi-media resource offering compassionate but actionable tips for parents trying to comprehend or “do something” when things don’t look right to them.

Available now at the web site of the Partnership for a Drug Free America, “Time to Act” brings to life scientific knowledge for parents who suspect or know something is wrong but don’t know where to turn or what to do.

Using multi-media and other user-friendly techniques, the innovative resource employs “branching” strategies that build upon parents’ own state of awareness about their child’s situation, with specific suggested actions for them to follow. The recommendations are straightforward, science-based, and delivered by experts as well as other parents who’ve seen, heard and experienced it all.

“Time to Act embodies the view that parents can be one of the most effective agents of response to youth drug and alcohol use, provided you give them the tools to do the job they are inherently equipped to do,” said A. Thomas McLellan, Ph.D., chief executive of the Treatment Research Institute. With research and survey findings suggesting that parents remain extremely influential in an adolescent’s life, Time to Act channels parents’ own instincts toward effective action, he said.

“Most important, Time to Act never insults parents’ intelligence. A mother or father may not know where to go with their instincts, but rarely are they wrong when they suspect their child is either experimenting or in real trouble with drugs or alcohol,” McLellan said.

Amelia Arria, Ph.D. and Ken Winters, Ph.D., also part of the TRI science team during development, stressed the parent focus of the resource. “Decades of research have shown that effective parenting is key to reducing the risk of substance use and related problems in adolescents,” Arria said.

“Parenting is a 24 hour, seven day-a-week job,” Winters added. “Time to Act provides a science-based guide for how parents can be an effective and efficient change agent in the home.”

“The discovery that a teen is experimenting with or regularly using alcohol or drugs is a very difficult time for parents, yet it’s a situation millions of families face each year,” said Steve Pasierb, President of the Partnership. “Many parents struggle with what to do next — how to confront their teen, set boundaries, and get help if their teen needs treatment — but the sooner parents take action, the better. Time to Act gives parents what they’re seeking in this situation – the useful knowledge and clear action steps necessary to help their family.”

Time to Act is the second in a series of parent resources released by the Partnership with science guidance from the Treatment Research Institute.

Its predecessor, A Parent’s Guide to the Teen Brain, released June 2008, is a building block tool providing essential knowledge parents need to establish the “talking” connection to help teens navigate any problem of adolescence, drugs and alcohol included.

In December 2008, A Parent’s Guide to the Teen Brain was named one of the top ten resources of the year by the influential educational group Join Together.