[Notes and reflections on family support programs that foster the social competence of children]

Harmony in family relationships has a positive impact on all its members and especially on the development of the social competence of the child. Based on current scientific knowledge, the scope of this article is to examine the quality criteria required for psychosocial support programs aimed at intervening together with families in order to reduce the behavioral problems of children and enhance their social competence. The programs discussed in this article are Incredible Years, High Scope and Fast Track (United States), ELEM and Fluppy (Canada). It is revealed that family interventions based on this knowledge meet high standards of efficacy and ethics. However, the conclusion reached is that researchers and professionals still face obstacles in protocols where the low coherence between assessment and intervention may compromise the quality of support offered to families from a public health perspective.