Adolescent behavioral health problems are associated with parent perceptions of evidence-based therapy and preferences when seeking therapeutic support.
Year: 2021
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Informational materials from psychological associations often encourage parents to seek out “evidence-based therapies” (EBTs) to address their child’s behavioral health concerns. This study examined whether parents concerned about their adolescents’ substance use had distinct preferences for EBT principles and marketing language based on their adolescent’s specific behavioral health problems. Parents (N = 411; 86% female; 88% non-Hispanic White) of adolescents (age 12-19 years) completed an online direct-to-consumer (DTC) marketing survey as part of a larger multi-phase study. Parents reported their adolescents had high rates of current externalizing (66%), internalizing (51%), substance-related (39%), and legal (25%) problems. Parents answered questions about their perceived definition of EBT, whether they valued underlying EBT principles (i.e., reliance on a proven approach vs. a varied approach), their preferred terms for describing EBT, and factors they considered when choosing a therapist. Most parents defined EBT correctly, regardless of their adolescent’s behavioral health problems. Parents of adolescents with internalizing or legal problems were less likely to value EBT principles, with legal problems emerging as the more important multivariate predictor. Additionally, parents of adolescents with substance-related or legal problems had distinct preferences for the terms used to describe EBTs. Finally, parents of adolescents with externalizing problems had distinct preferences for factors they considered when choosing a therapist. Psychologists and psychological associations seeking to disseminate information about EBTs to parents can utilize these DTC marketing-informed results to tailor outreach strategies based on adolescent behavioral health problems.
DOI: 10.1037/pro0000361
Institutions: Temple University, Brown University
Language: English
Subfield: Clinical Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
Awards: Development and Preliminary Testing of an Adjunct Smartphone App to Reduce Marijuana Use in Court-Involved, Non-Incarcerated Adolescents, Services Marketing to Disseminate Evidence-Based Therapy for Youth Substance Use, Increasing Parent Demand for Evidence-Based Practices to Treat Youth Anxiety: The Effect of Parent Key Opinion Leaders, Alcohol Intervention Treatment Outcome Research Training
OpenAlex ID: W3132897078