Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Attitudes, Skills and Knowledge Change in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Workers Following AOD Screening and Brief Intervention Training

  • Published:
International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Adolescent mental health workers are generally poor at identifying and treating co-existing alcohol and other drug (AOD) disorder. This study aimed to evaluate the utility and acceptability of an AOD screening and brief intervention (BI) training package delivered to child and adolescent mental health workers and its impact on relevant attitudes, skills and knowledge. Quantitative data was collected before and after the BI training using a 55-item questionnaire. Focus groups explored issues around AOD screening and BI implementation in practice. The questionnaire and focus group were repeated 10 months later to ascertain change in behaviour. The BI training was well-received and led to improvements in attitudes, skills and knowledge around AOD screening and BI in youth mental health practitioners. Positive change in participants’ attitudes to performing screening and BI were demonstrated. Low response rates at follow-up limited analysis of behaviour change.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. Māori are the indigenous people of New Zealand. “Kaupapa Māori’ is used popularly by Māori in a fairly broad way meaning any particular plan of action created by Māori, expressing Māori aspirations and expressing certain Māori values and principles”(Royal 2006 )

  2. Te Reo is the language of Māori, the indigenous people of New Zealand

References

  • Adolescent Health Research Group. (2008). Youth’07 The Health and Wellbeing of Secondary School Students in New Zealand: Technical Report. Auckland: University of Auckland.

    Google Scholar 

  • Amaral-Sabadini, M. B., Saitz, R., & Souza-Formigoni, M. L. (2010). Do attitudes about unhealthy alcohol and other drug (AOD) use impact primary care professionals' readiness to implement AOD-related preventive care? Drug And Alcohol Review, 29(6), 655–661.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • American Academy of Pediatrics: Committee on Substance Abuse, & Kokotailo, P. K. (2010). Policy Statement – Alcohol use by youth and adolescents: a pediatric concern. Pediatrics, 125(5), 1078–1087.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, P., & Clement, S. (1987). The AAPPQ revisited: the measurement of general practitioners attitudes towards alcohol problems. British Journal of Addiction, 82, 753–759.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Babor, T. F., & Higgins-Biddle, J. C. (2001). Brief intervention for hazardous and harmful drinking: a manual for use in primary care (Vol. Document no. WHO/MSD/MSB/01.6b): World Health Organisation.

  • Babor, T., McRee, B., Kassebaum, P., Grimaldi, P., Ahmed, K., & Bray, J. (2007). Screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT): toward a public health approach to the management of substance abuse. Substance Abuse, 28(3), 7–30.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Baer, J. S., Garrett, S. B., Beadnell, B., Wells, E. A., & Peterson, P. L. (2007). Brief motivational intervention with homeless adolescents: evaluating effects on substance use and service utilization [Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural]. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 21(4), 582–586.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Baker, A., Kay-Lambkin, F. J., & Lewin, T. J. (2007). Co-existing mental health and drug and alcohol problems: Steps towards better treatment. Clinical handbook of co-existing mental health and drug and alcohol problems. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baker, K., Lubman, D., Cosgrave, E., Killackey, E., Yuen, H., Hides, L., et al. (2007). Impact of co-occuring substance use on 6 month outcomes for young people seeking mental health treatment. The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 41, 896–902.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Barnes, H. M. (2000). Kaupapa maori: explaining the ordinary. Pacific Health Dialogue, 7(1), 13–16.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bernstein, E., Topp, D., Shaw, E., Girard, C., Pressman, K., Woolcock, E., et al. (2009). A preliminary report of knowledge translation: lessons from taking screening and brief intervention techniques from the research setting into regional systems of care. Academy of Emergency Medicine, 16(11), 1225–1233.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bien, T. H., Miller, W. R., & Tonigan, J. S. (1993). Brief Interventions for alcohol problems: a review. Addiction, 88, 315–335.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cartwright, A. K. J. (1980). The attitudes of helping agents towards the alcoholic client: the influence of experience, support, training and self esteem. British Journal of Addiction, 75, 413–431.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Christie, G. (2010). The Substances and Choices Scale Brief Intervention Manual: Complete Version. Retrieved from http://www.sacsinfo.com/docs/SACSBImanualcom10.pdf

  • Christie, G., Marsh, R., Sheridan, J., Wheeler, A., Suaalii-Sauni, T., Black, S., et al. (2007). The Substances and Choices Scale (SACS) - the development and testing of a new alcohol and other drug screening and outcome measurement instrument for young people. Addiction, 102(9), 1390.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Christie, G., Merry, S., & Robinson, E. (2010). Do young people attending addiction services differ from those attending youth mental health services? Drug and Alcohol Review, 29, 406–412.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Clark, D., & Moss, H. (2010). Providing alcohol-related screening and brief interventions to adolescents through health care systems: obstacles and solutions [Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural]. PLoS Medicine/Public Library of Science, 7(3), e1000214.

    Google Scholar 

  • Durie, M. (2004). Understanding health and illness: research at the interface between science and indigenous knowledge. International Journal of Epidemiology, 33(5), 1138–1143.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fleming, M. (1997). Strategies to increase alcohol screening in health care settings. Alcohol Health and Research World, 21(4), 340–347.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Geirsson, M., Bendtsen, P., & Spak, F. (2005). Attitudes of Swedish general practitioners and nurses to working with lifestyle change, with special reference to alcohol consumption. Alcohol and Alcoholism, 40(5), 388–393.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Goti, J., Diaz, R., Serrano, L., Gonzalez, L., Calvo, R., Gual, A., et al. (2010). Brief intervention in substance-use among adolescent psychiatric patients: a randomized controlled trial. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 19(6), 503–511.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heather, N. (2002). Effectiveness of brief interventions proved beyond reasonable doubt. Addiction, 97, 293–294.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jernigan, D. H. (2001). Global Status report: Alcohol and Young People. Geneva: World Health Organisation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, L. D., O’Malley, P. M., Bachman, J. G., & Schulenberg, J. E. (2009). Monitoring the Future: National results on adolescent drug use: Overview of key findings, 2008 NIH Publication NO. 09-7401. Bethseda: National Institute on Drug Abuse.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaner, E., Heather, N., McAvoy, B., Lock, C., & Gilvarry, E. (1999). Intervention for excessive alcohol consumption in primary healthcare: attitudes and practices of english general practitioners. Alcohol and Alcoholism, 34(4), 559–566.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • King, R. D., Gaines, L. S., Lambert, W. E., Summerfelt, T. W., & Bickman, L. (2000). The co-occurrence of psychiatric and substance use diagnoses in adolescent in different services systems: Frequency, recognition, cost, and outcomes. The Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research, 27(4), 417–430.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kramer, T. L., Robbins, J. M., Phillips, S. D., Miller, T. L., & Burns, B. J. (2003). Detection and outcomes of substance use disorders in adolescents seeking mental health treatment. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 42(11), 1318–1326.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Krupski, A., Sears, J. M., Joesch, J. M., Estee, S., He, L., Dunn, C., et al. (2010). Impact of brief interventions and brief treatment on admissions to chemical dependency treatment [Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural]. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 110(1-2), 126–136.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Liddle, H. A., & Rowe, C. L. (2006). Adolescent substance abuse. New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • McCambridge, J., & Strang, J. (2004). The efficacy of single-session motivational interviewing in reducing drug consumption and perceptions of drug related risk and harm among young people: results from a multi-site cluster randomised trial. Addiction, 99, 39–52.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, W. R., & Rollnick, S. (2002). Motivational Interviewing: Preparing People for Change (2nd ed.). London: Guildford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moyer, A., Finney, J. W., Swearingen, C. E., & Vergun, P. (2002). Brief interventions for alcohol problems: a meta-analytic review of controlled investigations in treatment seeking and non-treatment seeking populations. Addiction, 97, 279–292.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • National Ethics Advisory Committee. (2006). Ethical Guidelines for Observational Studies: Observational research, audits and related activities. Retrieved July 22, 2008, from http://www.neac.health.govt.nz/moh.nsf/pagescm/520/$File/ethicalguidelines.pdf

  • National Treatment Agency For Substance Misuse. (2009). Getting to grips with substance misuse among young people - The data for 2007/2008. London: National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse.

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Leary-Tevyaw, T., & Monti, P. M. (2004). Motivational enhancement and other brief interventions for adolescent substance abuse: foundations, applications and evaluations. Addiction, 99(Suppl. 2), 63–75.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pulford, J., McCormick, R., Wheeler, A., Firkin, P., Scott, I., & Robinson, G. (2007). Alcohol assessment: the practice, knowledge, and attitudes of staff working in the general medical wards of a large metropolitan hospital. The New Zealand Medical Journal, 120(1257).

  • Roche, A., & Freeman, T. (2004). Brief interventions: good in theory but weak in practice. Drug and Alcohol Review, 23, 11–18.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Royal, C. (2006). Methodology. Retrieved 16 July 2011from http://www.rangahau.co.nz/methodology/59/

  • Sheridan, J., Wheeler, A., Ju-Hsing Chen, L., Chen-Yun Huang, A., Nga-Yee Leung, I., & Yow-Chyi Tien, K. (2008). Screening and brief interventions for alcohol: attitudes, knowledge and experience of community pharmacists in Auckland, New Zealand. Drug and Alcohol Review, 27, 380–387.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Skinner, N., Roche, A., Freeman, T., & McKinnon, A. (2009). Health professionals’ attitudes to AOD-related work: moving the traditional focus from education and training to organizational culture. Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy, 16(3), 232–249.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tait, R. J., & Hulse, G. K. (2003). A systematic review of the effectiveness of brief interventions with substance using adolescents by type of drug. Drug and Alcohol Review, 22(3), 337–346.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Thomas, D. (2006). A general inductive approach for analyzing qualitative evaluation data. American Journal of Evaluation, 27, 237–246.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This work was sponsored by the Werry Centre for Child and Adolescent Mental Health through an unrestricted research grant. We also acknowledge the Alcohol Advisory Council of New Zealand, who funded the development of the Substances and Choices Scale screening and outcome measurement instrument and support its availability via the www.sacsinfo.com website.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Community Alcohol and Drug Service Altered High Youth Service, Waitemata District Health Board, Auckland, New Zealand

    Grant Christie

  2. Clinical Research & Resource Centre (CRRC), Waitemata District Health Board, Auckland, New Zealand

    Stella Black & Lucy Dunbar

  3. Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research and the School of Population Health, University of Queensland, Queensland, Australia

    Justin Pulford

  4. Griffith Health Institute, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia

    Amanda Wheeler

Authors
  1. Grant Christie
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Stella Black
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Lucy Dunbar
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Justin Pulford
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Amanda Wheeler
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Grant Christie.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Christie, G., Black, S., Dunbar, L. et al. Attitudes, Skills and Knowledge Change in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Workers Following AOD Screening and Brief Intervention Training. Int J Ment Health Addiction 11, 232–246 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-012-9414-1

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-012-9414-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation