OVERVIEW

The Iowa Strengthening Families Program is a 7-week-long intervention aimed to reduce substance use among 10- and 14-year-olds and improve the parent-child relationship by teaching various communication, problem-solving, and perspective-taking skills to parents and adolescents. An experimental evaluation indicates that the program's positive outcomes-more sophisticated parenting skills, increased "positive feelings" towards adolescent children, and stronger parent-child relationships-continued to develop years after the program's end.

DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM

Target population: Families residing in low-income communities

The Iowa Strengthening Families Program (ISFP) aims to reduce substance use among 10- to 14-year-olds and improve the parent-child relationship (Molgaard & Spoth). Participants are given instruction on various communication, problem-solving, and perspective-taking skills. The first hour of program sessions consisted of separate parent and adolescent training. Among other issues, parents were taught limit-setting, communication, encouraging good behavior, and using community resources; adolescents received training on goal-setting, appreciating parents, dealing with stress, and how to deal with peer pressure. The subsequent hour of joint training focused on appreciating others, understanding family values, conflict resolution, and various communication skills.

EVALUATION(S) OF PROGRAM

Evaluated population: 446 families from low-income areas in Iowa

An experimental evaluation was conducted by Project Family at the Institute for Social and Behavioral research at Iowa State University. The sample (described above) was randomly assigned to either a control or treatment group, the latter of which underwent two-hour teaching sessions over seven weeks. Data, collected for four years after the initial treatment, showed that parents experienced more sophisticated parenting skills, had increased "positive feelings" towards their child, and strong parent-child relationships continued to develop over time. This program has been tailored to work with specific ethnic populations, as well; informal measures suggest similarly successful outcomes, but longitudinal studies are still underway.

SOURCES FOR MORE INFORMATION

References:

Molgaard, V., & Spoth, R. (n.d.). Strengthening Families Program: For Parents and Youth 10-14. Retrieved February 13, 2002, from the World Wide Web: www.extension.iastate.edu/sfp

Program also discussed in the following Child Trends publication(s):

Hair, E. C., Jager, J., & Garrett, S. B. (2002). Helping teens develop healthy social skills and relationships: What the research shows about navigating adolescence (Research brief). Washington , DC : Child Trends.

Hair, E. C., Jager, J., & Garrett, S. B. (2001). Background for community-level work on social competency in adolescence: Reviewing the literature on contributing factors. Washington, DC: Child Trends.

SUMMARY & CATEGORIZATION

Program categorized in this guide according to the following:

Evaluated participant ages: 10-14 / Program age ranges in the Guide: 6-11, 12-14

Program components: Clinic/provider-based, Parent/family

Measured outcomes: Social/emotional

Program information last updated 12/31/01.

© Child Trends 2003