nearly every time). Cronbach’s alphas for the scales across pretest and posttest were above .77. Scores from both reporters were standardized and summed to create the reciprocal communication scale. Positive problem solving was assessed with a four-item scale. Caregivers and youths reported how often the caregivers helped the youths to solve problems by showing interest, listening to youths’ ideas, and considering youths’ viewpoints. The response set ranged from 1 (never) to 5 (always). Cronbach’s alphas for the scales across pretest and posttest were above .76. Scores from both reporters were standardized and summed to create the positive problem solving scale. Caregivers’ substance use norms and expectations were assessed with a six-item scale. Caregivers and youths reported caregivers’ norms regarding the use of alcohol and other substances, association with substance-using peers, and consequences for not following caregivers’ substance-related rules. The response set ranged from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Cronbach’s alphas for the scales across pretest and posttest were above .90. Scores from both reporters were standardized and summed to create the substance use norms and expectations scale. These scales were developed and tested in previous intervention studies (Brody et al., 2004), in which they evinced good predictive validity.
