Strengthening Families for the Future

Strengthening Families for the Future Strengthening Families For the Future (SFF) is a family based prevention program for elementary school aged children between the ages of 7 ? 11 (and their parents) who may be at risk for substance abuse, depression, violence, delinquency and school failure. The program is intended to delay the onset of adolescent alcohol use and other risk behaviours by enhancing protective factors and reducing risk factors; as well as to enhance parenting skills and reduce their own levels of substance abuse. A family-focused substance abuse prevention program aimed at universal and selective (higher risk) families, this program includes: a Parental Focus in which parents are taught specifically to relay expectations related to substance use and abuse, understand developmental norms, use appropriate disciplinary practices and manage strong emotions. Observation, direct practice, immediate feedback and videotapes are used to illustrate and reinforce key concepts. The Children's Componet consists of many of the same topics as the parents but also includes dealing with peer pressure, compliance with parental rules, dealing with criticism, increasing social competencies, managing emotions and increase knowledge on drugs and alcohol. During Family Hour the curriculum concentrates on increasing family cohesiveness and positive involvement of the child in the family. Each component is led by a 2 person team, requiring 4 trainers per session. No details on the leader training available. Different lengths of contact time have been tried with different implementations of the original program. Kumpfer describes a 14 week, once/week curriculum, 2 hours per session for high-risk families. Two extra weeks are needed for baseline and post program evaluation needs. The program offered by CAMH is fourteen sessions in length. A booster or review session is also included. Each session begins with a family dinner, followed by separate one-hour sessions for parents and children and ends with a fifty-minute family session. The original US version of the program can be explored at http://www.strengtheningfamiliesprogram.org/ Visit Website I. Citation Information and Links Primary Source Document Authors: Centre de toxicomanie et de santé mentale Language English II. About the intervention: General Characteristics Intervention's Country of Origin Canada Health Issues Addressed Chronic Disease Prevention Chronic Disease Prevention General Chronic Disease Prevention Mental Illness Health Promotion & Behaviour-related Protective Factors Mental Health Behaviour-related Risk Factors Alcohol use/abuse Use/abuse of illegal drugs Determinants of Health Personal health practices and coping skills Healthy child development Social environments Social support networks Priority/Target Population for Intervention Delivery: Life Stage Children (age 6-12) Relevant Ecological Levels Interpersonal level (e.g., family, friends) Setting Other Community Settings: Community/neighbourhood III. Foundations of the Intervention IV. Implementation of the Intervention Strategies Individual education/skill development Physical environmental support V. Evaluation Design of the Intervention VI. Intervention Outcomes VII. Adaptation