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Published on: July 10, 2017
Parent-Centered Prevention of Risky Behaviors Among Hispanic Youths in Florida
Yannine Estrada1, Tae Kyoung Lee1, Shi Huang1
1Yannine Estrada, Tae Kyoung Lee, Maria I. Tapia, Maria-Rosa Velázquez, Hilda Pantin, Manuel A. Ocasio, Denise C. Vidot, Lourdes Molleda, Bryan A. Stepanenko, and Guillermo Prado are with the Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Miami, Miami, FL. Shi Huang is with the Department of Biostatistics, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN. Marcos J. Martinez is with the Prevention Research Center at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque. Juan Villamar and C. Hendricks Brown are with the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL.
Objectives:
To evaluate the effectiveness of an evidence-based, parent-centered intervention, Familias Unidas, delivered by nonresearch personnel, in preventing substance use (alcohol, illicit drugs) and sex without a condom among Hispanic adolescents.
Methods:
A randomized controlled trial (n = 746) evaluated the effectiveness of Familias Unidas among Hispanic eighth graders (age range = 12-16 years), relative to prevention as usual, within a public school system. School personnel, including social workers and mental health counselors, were trained to deliver the evidence-based intervention. Participant recruitment, intervention delivery, and follow-up ran from September 2010 through June 2014 in Miami-Dade County, Florida.
Results:
Familias Unidas was effective in preventing drug use from increasing and prevented greater increases in sex without a condom 30 months after baseline, relative to prevention as usual. Familias Unidas also had a positive impact on family functioning and parental monitoring of peers at 6 months after baseline.
Conclusions:
This study demonstrated the effectiveness of a parent-centered preventive intervention program in preventing risky behaviors among Hispanic youths. Findings highlight the feasibility of training nonresearch personnel on effectively delivering a manualized intervention in a real-world setting.
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