How to Coach Yourself and Others Coaching Families

The Family Profile of a Drug-Abusing Adolescent Research shows that many adolescent behavior problems have common causes and that families, in particular, play a large role in those problems in many cases (Szapocznik and Coatsworth 1999). Some of the family problems that have been identified as linked to adolescent problem behaviors include:           Parental drug use or other antisocial behavior Parental under- or over-involvement with the adolescent Parental over- or under-control of the adolescent Poor quality of parent-adolescent communication Lack of clear rules and consequences for adolescent behavior Inconsistent application of rules and consequences for adolescent behavior Inadequate monitoring and management of the adolescent's activities with peers Lack of adult supervision of the adolescent's activities with peers Poor adolescent bonding to family Poor family cohesiveness Some adolescents may have families who had these problems before they began using drugs (Szapocznik and Coatsworth 1999). Other families may have developed problems in response to the adolescent's problem behaviors (Santisteban et al. in press). Because family problems are an integral part of the profile of drugabusing adolescents and have been linked to the initiation and maintenance of adolescent drug use, it is necessary to improve conditions in the youth's most lasting and influential environment: the family. BSFT targets all of these family problems. The Behavioral Profile of a Drug-Abusing Adolescent Adolescents who need drug abuse treatment usually exhibit a variety of externalizing behavior problems. These may include:        School truancy Delinquency Associating with antisocial peers Conduct problems at home and/or school Violent or aggressive behavior Oppositional behavior Risky sexual behavior Negativity in the Family Families of drug-abusing adolescents exhibit high degrees of negativity (Robbins et al. 1998). Very often, this negativity takes the form of family members blaming each other for both the adolescent's and the family's problems. Examples might include a parent who refers to her drug-abusing son as "no good" or "a lost cause." Parents or parent figures may blame each other for what they perceive as a failure in raising the child. For example, one parent may accuse the other of having been a "bad example," or for not "being there" when the youngster needed him or her. The adolescent, in turn, may speak about the parent accused of setting a bad example with disrespect and resentment. The communication among family members is contaminated with anger, bitterness, and animosity. To the BSFT counselor, these signs of emotional or affective distress indicate that the work of changing dysfunctional behaviors must start with changing the negative tone of the family members' emotions and the negative content of their interactions. Research shows that when family negativity is reduced early in treatment, families are more likely to remain in therapy (Robbins et al. 1998). 47

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