Family-Based Prevention Programs

Abstract

Overview Prevention programs for adolescents and their families are designed to reduce youth problems and promote positive development by addressing assets and risk and protective factors at the family level. A growing body of research conducted over the past 30 years on the efficacy of family-based prevention models provides increasing support for the value of this approach. The literature on evidence-based family programs provides some insight into the common characteristics underlying effective, family-based prevention programs and can provide guidance to those interested in improving existing programs and designing new ones. Although prevention programs directed at families with adolescents can be an important tool for addressing youth issues, there remain a number of barriers that hinder their wider adoption. Effectively addressing these obstacles is necessary if such programs are to gain wider acceptance and ultimately make a significant difference in the lives of youth and their families. Over the past three decades, there has been a significant growth in the number of prevention programs aimed at reducing adolescent problems and supporting positive youth development. These programs have evolved over the years from fairly simplistic approaches that relied on fear tactics, exhortations to say "no," or merely providing information about the dangers of particular risky behaviors to more sophisticated interventions that are based on current scientific research, theory, and evaluation of program effectiveness. Such preventive interventions have also expanded the settings and processes that are targeted. While the majority of prevention programs for youth have traditionally been school based, in recent years more have begun to target families. Even as the physical and social worlds of young people expand, parents and families continue to be one of the most important influences on adolescent development and well-being. As Kumpfer and Alvarado (2003) pointed out in their review of preventive family interventions for youth, "Effective parenting is the most powerful way to reduce adolescent problem behaviors."