Peer-reviewed article
Solution-focused brief therapy to improve child well-being and family functioning outcomes with substance using parents in the child welfare system
Johnny S. Kim, Becci A. Akin, Jody Brook ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study tested solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT) with parents involved in the child welfare system who misuse substances. A randomized controlled trial compared SFBT to standard treatment at an outpatient addiction center with 180 parents. Both groups improved on measures of child behavior and family functioning, with SFBT showing similar results to standard care. The therapy uses a strengths-based approach to help families build on their abilities rather than focusing on problems.
Key points
- Both SFBT and treatment-as-usual groups showed improvements in child well-being and family functioning at posttest
- No statistically significant differences were found between SFBT and control groups
- SFBT effect sizes ranged from small to medium across child behavior and family functioning measures
- Effect sizes for parental depression (CES-D) were .428 for SFBT and .317 for control group
- SFBT demonstrated effectiveness similar to empirically-supported therapies currently in use
Limitations
The study found no significant advantage of SFBT over treatment-as-usual, so it cannot demonstrate superiority of this specific approach. The findings apply only to substance-using parents in the child welfare system in an outpatient setting and may not generalize to other populations or contexts.
Abstract
This study examined the effectiveness of solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT) on child well-being and family functioning outcomes for child welfare involved parents. A randomized controlled trial design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of SFBT as compared to treatment-as-usual in an outpatient substance abuse treatment center. Mixed linear models tested within and between-group changes using intent-to-treat analysis ( N = 180). Hedges’s g effect sizes examined the magnitude of treatment effects. Both conditions reported improvements on the child well-being measures (Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function [BRIEF]-Parent Report and Child Behavior Checklist-School Age Form [CBCL-SA]) and family functioning measures (Adult-Adolescent Parenting Inventory [AAPI-2] and Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression [CES-D] Short Form) at posttest. While none of the between group analyses were statistically significant on either outcome domains, effect sizes did show improvements in the small to medium range for both groups. SFBT effect sizes for BRIEF subscales ranged from .024 to .267 and for control group ranged from .136 to .363. SFBT effect sizes on CBCL-SA subscales ranged from .059 to .321 and for control group ranged from .101 to .313. SFBT effect sizes on AAPI-2 subscales ranged from .006 to .620 and control group ranged from .023 to .624. SFBT effect sizes on CES-D measure were .428 and for control group were .317. Results show SFBT to be an effective intervention for helping parents around child well-being and family functioning outcomes similar to current empirically-supported therapies. SFBT provides a more strengths-based approach to help families improve family well-being and thus help improve their child’s well-being.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
Problem
Children whose parents misuse substances have poor behavioral outcomes and family dysfunction
- Intervention
- Solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT), a strengths-based therapeutic approach delivered to parents in the child welfare system
- Population
- 180 parents involved in the child welfare system with substance use disorders attending an outpatient addiction treatment center
Key finding
SFBT effect sizes on child behavior (BRIEF subscales) ranged from .024 to .267