The Strong African American Families Program: translating research into prevention programming

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Developmental Psychology
• Family Studies

Background:

• Preventive interventions are crucial for mitigating risks associated with early alcohol use and sexual activity in adolescents.
• Parenting practices significantly influence youth development and protective factor development.
• Rural African American families face unique challenges that necessitate culturally tailored interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of the Strong African American Families Program (SAAF) in enhancing protective factors for youth.
• To examine the mediating role of parenting in the relationship between the SAAF intervention and youth protective factors.
• To assess the impact of SAAF on parenting variables such as involvement-vigilance, racial socialization, and communication about sex.

Main Methods:

• A randomized prevention trial comparing the SAAF intervention group with a control group.
• Longitudinal assessment of parenting variables and youth protective factors over a 7-month period.
• Statistical mediation analysis to determine the indirect effects of the intervention on youth outcomes through parenting.

Main Results:

• The SAAF intervention led to significant improvements in parenting practices.
• Changes in parenting mediated the intervention's positive effects on youth protective factors.
• Youth protective factors, including negative attitudes towards early alcohol use and sexual activity, showed improvement.

Conclusions:

• The SAAF program effectively enhances parenting, which is a key mechanism for fostering youth resilience.
• Culturally adapted preventive interventions can successfully promote positive youth development and reduce risk behaviors.
• Regulated, communicative parenting plays a vital role in protecting adolescents from early substance use and sexual activity.