Developing Positive Parental Influences Manual : An Alcohol and Drug Training for Parents and Other Caring Adults Who Wish to Influence Youth.

Designed for trainers, this manual presents the Developing Positive Parental Influences parent training component of the Creating Lasting Family Connections Curriculum, a curriculum for promoting the healthy development of youth at risk for alcohol and other drug abuse. After providing information on the Council on Prevention and Education: Substances, Inc. (COPES) and research findings on the effectiveness of the Creating Lasting Connections project, the manual outlines the individual training components that make up the Creating Lasting Family Connections prevention program model and provides an overview of the Developing Positive Parental Influences training. Necessary trainer characteristics are described, as well as strategies for conducting the training. Outlines are then provided for each of the six 1-1/2 to 2 hour training sessions. The sessions address: how one's family history influences perceptions and beliefs about alcohol or drug use and personal experiences with alcohol; reasonable and healthy beliefs regarding personal and family alcohol use based on personal experience, the experiences of others, basic information, and reflective thinking; how personal alcohol and drug use decisions have been influenced by family, social, and cultural experiences; the impact alcohol has on tension levels in the body, how motivations for alcohol use are related to other more healthy motivations, and modeling healthy and appropriate non-chemical highs; alcoholism as a disease that has early, middle, and late stages with recognizable effects on family, friends, and other relationships; and hereditary, environmental, and lifestyle risk factors associated with alcoholism and chemical dependency, and the process of intervention. Each session outline includes a list of objectives, training preparation information, trainer notes, and reflective exercises. The manual closes with school-based implementation information.