Thesis (M.S.)--University of North Texas, August, 2008. / Title from title page display. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Delaware, 2006. / Principal faculty advisor: Christine Ohannessian, Dept. of Individual & Family Studies. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--Oregon State University, 2007. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 127-131). Also available on the World Wide Web.

Dissertation (Ph.D.) -- The Institute for Clinical Social Work, 2003. / A dissertation submitted to the faculty of the Institute of Clinical Social Work in partial fulfillment for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

This study evaluates archival data from a home intervention with an at-risk preschool child and her family. The intervention model studied was created by the Developmental Research Lab at Texas Christian University. Data was collected prior to and during the first 4 weeks of intervention to assess change in parent-child interaction, behavior and neurochemical profile. Measures used include coding of videotape recordings of the intervention, neurotransmitter levels taken via subject urine samples, Child Behavior Checklist, Parent Stress Index, and ACTeRS Parent Form. Results suggest positive change in parent-child interaction, behavior and neurochemical profile. However, consistent growth was not observed in several neurochemical results. Future studies should assess the entirety of the home intervention model and with a larger sample size.

Opioid use disorder impedes dependent parents' abilities to care for their children. In turn, children may languish in unpredictability and persistent chaos. Societal responses to these children are often guided by a belief that unless the drug dependent parent receives treatment, there is little help for the child. While a preponderance of the drug dependence research is adult-centric, a significant body of research demonstrates the importance of not only addressing the immediate well being of the children of drug dependent caregivers but preventing the continuing cycle of drug dependence. The present commentary demonstrates through a brief review of the US history of drug dependence crises and research from the 1980s and 1990s, a range of “tried and true” family, school, and community interventions centered on children. We already know that these children are at high risk of maladjustment and early onset of drug dependence; early intervention is critical; multiple risk factors are likely to occur simultaneously; comprehensive strategies are optimal; and multiple risk-focused strategies are most protective. Where we need now to turn our efforts is on how to effectively implement and disseminate best practices, many of which we learned in the 1980s and 1990s. The greatest opportunity in both changing the nature of the opioid epidemic at scale and influencing rapid translation of existing research findings into policy and practice is not in asking what to do, but in asking how to do the right things well, and quickly.