Strengthening Families Program: For Parents and Youth 10 – 14 Iowa State University

Presented by:

Pam Peterson, MS, APSW

UW-Extension Family Living Educator

Door County

Strengthening Families Program: For Parents and Youth 10-14Iowa State University

Recognized as exemplary and evidence-based by:Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

National Institute on Drug AbuseUS Department of Education

US Department of Health and Human Services

Strengthening Families ProgramFor Parents and Youth 10-14

Special Features of the Program– Transition to the teen years– Parents and youth learn together– Videos portray parent-child interaction– User friendly materials– Fun, interactive projects and activities– Culturally-sensitive for African-American and

Hispanic families– Rigorously evaluated

Strengthening Families ProgramFor Parents and Youth 10-14

Program Format

– Developed for parents and youth 10-14– Designed for 7-10 families– Seven two-hour sessions– Four Booster Sessions – Three program facilitators

SFP Typical Session SFP Typical SessionFamilyMeal

1 Hour Simultaneously+

1 Hour

YouthSession

ParentSession

FamilySession

Family Needs

Transportation

Managing Children

Flexibility for

Meals

Parenting Skills

Reason to

Participate

Strengthening Families Program

Transportation

ChildcareMeals

Skill Building

Incentives &

Group

Cohesiveness

Strengthening Families ProgramFor Parents and Youth 10-14

Program Materials– leader guide with masters for handouts– leader guide with masters for Booster Sessions 1-4– videotapes

Present information and illustrate skills Actors are African-American, Hispanic and Caucasian 6 parent, 1 youth, 2 family videos 4 videos for booster sessions

– Love and Limits magnets– Additional materials for program games/activities

Strengthening Families ProgramFor Parents and Youth 10-14

Program Activities– Videos, short lectures & vignettes– Group Discussions– Skills Practice– Active Games/Learning Games– Family projects

Strengthening Families ProgramFor Parents and Youth 10-14

Core Themes Using Love and Limits Empathy Rules/Responsibilities to Reach Goals Expressing Appreciation Open and Clear Communication

Parents Make a Difference!

Strengthening Families ProgramFor Parents and Youth 10-14

Universal Prevention/Intervention• Economically disadvantaged • Racially diverse • Court-ordered families• Families already in family therapy

Strengthening Families ProgramFor Parents and Youth 10-14

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70%

0 Months(Pretest)

6 Months(Posttest)

18 Months (7th Grade)

30 Months (8th Grade)

48 Months (10th

Grade)

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ISFP Control

Lifetime alcohol use without parental permission, 6th grade baseline through 10th grade follow-up of students receiving SFP 10-14 and control group students

At the10th grade, SFP 10-14 students exhibited a 32% relative reduction in alcohol use compared to control group students (p<.01).

Strengthening Families ProgramFor Parents and Youth 10-14

Self-reported aggressive behavior in youth receiving SFP 10-14 and control group, 6th grade baseline through 10th grade

*Aggressive-Destructive Conduct Index is based on an in-home questionnaire derived from the National Youth Survey and measures the frequency with which youth engaged in identified behaviors including physically aggressive behavior toward people (p=.01).

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0.1

0.2

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0 Months(Pretest)

6 Months(Posttest)

18 Months (7th Grade)

30 Months (8th Grade)

48 Months (10th

Grade)

Ag

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estr

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ive

Ind

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ISFP Control

SFP Prevention Program : Cost Savings

$7.82 return for every dollar invested!

Strengthening Families ProgramFor Parents and Youth 10-14

The most valuable thing parents learned:– “to listen to my child and their feelings” – “to not criticize my child personally when I’m angry”– “to set rules and consequences and still show love”

Strengthening Families ProgramFor Parents and Youth 10-14

The most valuable thing youth learned:– “to deal with peer pressure”– “that my parents have stress too”– “how to talk to mom and dad”– “my parents love me”

UW-ExtensionFamily Living Programs

Strengthening Families Websites:http://www.uwex.edu/ces/flp/families/strengthening.cfm

http://www.extension.iastate.edu/sfp/index.cfm