Family characteristics of children who self-select into a prevention program for children of alcoholics

Evaluated the efficacy of a self-selection recruitment process designed to attract fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-grade children into a school-based prevention program for children of alcoholics. Participants were 296 families comprising one child and either one or both parents. Family members' self- and collateral reports were used to assess parental problem drinking, family characteristics, and individual pathology. Analyses revealed that the recruitment process was not effective in recruiting children of alcohol-abusing parents. Furthermore, families in which children received parental consent to participate in the prevention program were indistinguishable from families whose children either showed interest without obtaining consent or showed no interest at all. Implications for recruitment strategies for future prevention programs for children of alcoholics are discussed.     

Evaluating an innovative counselling service for children of divorce

An evaluation of the first counselling service in Britain for children of divorce is reported. In a previous article, the quantitative outcomes of counselling were outlined, which included such data as the children's self-esteem and perceptions of divorce. Here the focus is on the qualitative outcomes of the counselling evaluation: namely, the children's and mother's satisfaction with the counselling, and the counsellor's opinion of its success. The conclusions of the study and their implications for practice are discussed.     

Multiracial recruitment in the field of family therapy: an innovative training program for people of color

This article describes the creation of a training program designed to increase the number of family therapists of color in the family therapy field. In 1992, a partnership between New York City schools of social work, community agencies, and the Ackerman Institute for the Family created the Diversity and Social Work Training Program. Elements critical to the program's success were recruitment strategies, mentorships, partnerships with outside organizations, provision of a long-term institutional commitment, biracial collaborations, and institutional change. This article describes the design, structure, and process of this program's evolution and its impact 12 years later.     

Tailoring sex-education programs to adolescents--a strategy for the primary prevention of unwanted adolescent pregnancies

The data for this paper were derived from 88 unstructured interviews conducted with a purposive sample of adolescents from September 1978 through July 1979. We content analyzed all interview abstracts with particular emphasis on the comments and suggestions made by adolescents in regard to sex education in order to ascertain their needs. Three areas in need of immediate revision were identified--curriculum, format, and lecturer. Respondents also provided a variety of suggestions which can be used by educators and planners in developing and implementing sex-education programs; thereby making programs sensitive to the expressed needs and wants of adolescents. This qualitative study supports the findings of many quantitative studies which found that many adolescents do not have, yet want, sensitive sex-education programs.     

Weight concerns among elementary school children: a review of prevention programs

There is increasing evidence that children display high levels of weight and muscle concerns, which include body dissatisfaction and problem eating. In order to address these issues, researchers have designed and implemented prevention programs for this age group. Thirteen published studies were located and reviewed, with children aged 8-12 years from elementary schools, or equivalent. Overall, the programs were shown to be effective in improving children's knowledge at post-test and at follow-up assessments. However, there is limited evidence to show that the programs reduced or prevented body image concerns and/or problem eating. Too few studies have examined muscle concerns so no conclusions can yet be drawn about this domain. Limitations of the studies and suggestions for future prevention efforts are discussed.     

Evaluation of the effectiveness of suicide prevention programs: a methodological perspective

Many studies that attempt to evaluate the effectiveness of treatment programs for suicidal patients are methodologically deficient in one or more areas. This paper outlines six criteria that should be met in designing such investigations: Patients should be randomly assigned to groups; at least 80% of the subjects who were initially enrolled should be followed up; the results should be both statistically significant and clinically important; all clinically relevant outcomes should be reported; the patients must be adequately described; and the new intervention should be feasible in other settings. It is shown that these criteria are both necessary and achievable.     

Effective recruitment of parents into family-focused prevention research: A comparison of two strategies

Abstract

Recent literature highlights the need for more effective recruitment and retention strategies in prevention research. This article reports an investigation of the effectiveness of two recruitment strategies for a family-focused substance abuse prevention study. The first strategy offered prospective participants two points at which they could make a decision about their level of involvement in the research project and required only a limited initial time commitment. The second strategy required an initial commitment to participate in all phases of the project. The investigation was conducted with 208 rural families participating in the pilot phase of a five-year prevention study. There were three primary findings. First, both strategies were effective, yielding higher recruitment rates than would be predicted from relevant literature. Second, the strategy requiring a limited time commitment showed significantly higher rates of recruitment into the pretest, but was associated with significantly lower posttest retention rates. Third, data trends emerged but there were no statistically significant differences between the two recruitment strategy groups across a range of intervention participation indicators.     

Evaluation of home-based programs for teaching personal safety skills to children

We evaluated the efficacy of a commercially available program, the Red Flag, Green Flag Prevention Book, used by parents to teach their children personal safety skills. Children's knowledge and skills regarding the prevention of sexual abuse and abduction were assessed prior to, during, and after training. In one group, training consisted of parents using the prevention book to train their children. Parents of children in the second group used the prevention book with added instructions. Children who did not achieve criterion performance after training with the prevention book received behavioral skills training provided by the experimenter. All children acquired safety skills following behavioral skills training. Follow-up probes 2 months later showed skill maintenance among the older children. Parents reported satisfaction with the procedures and no signs of behavioral or emotional problems following the follow-up probe.     

Effectiveness of school-based prevention and intervention programs for children and adolescents with emotional disturbance: A meta-analysis

The present study evaluated the effectiveness of school-based prevention and intervention programs for children and adolescents at-risk for and with emotional disturbance. Published outcome studies (k = 29) from December, 1988, to March, 2006, including 1405 children and adolescents were reviewed. Each investigation was coded on several variables describing the child, parent, and teacher samples, as well as reported outcome results. The overall mean weighted effect size was 1.00 at post-test and 1.35 at follow-up. Mean weighted ESs were 0.42 for between-subjects design studies, 0.87 for within-subjects design studies, and 1.87 for single-subject design studies. Prevention programs yielded a mean weighted ES of 0.54 and intervention programs produced a mean weighted ES of 1.35. Findings for specific outcome foci are presented and implications are discussed.     

A meta-analytic review of obesity prevention programs for children and adolescents: the skinny on interventions that work

This meta-analytic review summarizes obesity prevention programs and their effects and investigates participant, intervention, delivery, and design features associated with larger effects. A literature search identified 64 prevention programs seeking to produce weight gain prevention effects, of which 21% produced significant prevention effects that were typically pre- to post effects. Larger effects emerged for programs that targeted children and adolescents (vs. preadolescents) and females, programs that were relatively brief, programs that solely targeted weight control versus other health behaviors (e.g., smoking), programs evaluated in pilot trials, and programs wherein participants must have self-selected into the intervention. Other factors, including mandated improvements in diet and exercise, sedentary behavior reduction, delivery by trained interventionists, and parental involvement, were not associated with significantly larger effects.     

Utilizing ret for effective treatment of adult children of alcoholics

Adult Children of Alcoholics (ACOAs) are a recognized clinical population that includes approximately one of every eight Americans. Although there has been a great deal of interest in this population, studies indicate that only 5% of ACOAs receive effective treatment. The authors assert that Rational-Emotive Therapy can provide ACOAs the education, expression of suppressed feelings, and cognitive restructuring that research indicates is necessary for recovery. This paper discusses issues associated with ACOAs and methods of using RET with this population.Marjorie E. Ferstein, M.S., is an Advisor in the Judicial Program of the University of Georgia.Susan C. Whiston is an Assistant Professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.     

Programmed stuttering therapy for children: Comparison of four establishment programs

Four different establishment programs (programmed traditional, delayed auditory feedback, pause, and gradual increase in length and complexity of utterance) for improving the fluency of school-age children who stutter were compared. The programs were carried out by eight public school clinicians with 16 children (eight elementary and eight junior-senior high school) in their respective schools. All four programs produced important improvement in the speech fluency of the 16 children. All the children demonstrated transfer of fluency to extratraining settings. The delayed auditory feedback program required the least therapy hours, but it was difficult for the clinicians to operate correctly. The gradual increase in length and complexity of utterance programs produced the best overall results. The transfer and maintenance programs provided for additional generalization and permanency of fluency. Follow-up revealed that the children continued their increased level of fluency.     

Correlates of unhealthy weight-control behaviors among adolescents: implications for prevention programs.

This study aimed to identify correlates of unhealthy weight-control behaviors in adolescents to guide the development of programs aimed at the primary prevention of disordered eating. A model explaining unhealthy weight-control behaviors was tested among 4,746 adolescents using structural equation modeling. Models fit the data well and explained 76% of the variance in unhealthy weight-control behaviors among girls and 63% among boys. Weight-body concerns were a strong correlate of unhealthy weight-control behaviors in both girls and boys. Models also emphasized the importance of weight-specific social norms within the adolescent's proximal environment. Findings suggest the importance of addressing weight-body concerns within prevention programs and extending interventions beyond classroom settings to ensure changes in weight-related norms among peer groups and family members.     

Searching for an environmental effect of parental alcoholism on offspring alcohol use disorder: a genetically informed study of children of alcoholics

The children-of-twins design was used to isolate a potentially causal environmental impact of having an alcoholic parent on offspring alcohol use disorder, by an examination of whether the children of alcoholics were at a higher risk for alcohol use disorders than were the children of nonalcoholic parents, even after correlated familial factors were controlled. Participants were 1,224 male and female twins from 836 twin pairs selected from the Australian Twin Registry, 2,334 of the twins' 18-39-year-old offspring, and 983 spouses of the twins. Lifetime histories of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.) alcohol use disorders were obtained by structured, psychiatric, telephone interviews conducted individually with each of the family members. Comparisons of the offspring of twins who were discordant for alcoholism indicated that there was no longer a statistically significant difference between the children of alcoholics and the children of nonalcoholics after genetic and family environmental factors correlated with having an alcoholic parent were controlled. The results of this study suggest that the direct causal effect of being exposed to an alcoholic parent on offspring alcohol use disorder is modest at best.     

Establishing enduring prevention programs: Advancing the legacy of Swampscott

The recent anniversary of the 1965 Swampscott Conference provided an opportunity to reconsider the implications of that meeting for prevention research. An unfulfilled aspect of the Swampscott legacy is the relative paucity of demonstration programs that become enduring parts of their host settings. A macrolevel, systems-oriented reformulation of Albee's (1982) prevention formula is presented to help conceptualize the linkage of prevention programs to their host settings. Finally, structural considerations necessary for weaving efforts at prevention and health promotion into adaptive, enduring organizational niches are reviewed.     

The community alcohol use scale: A scale for use in prevention programs

The Community Alcohol Use Scale (CAUS) was developed as a continuous, reliable, valid, and acceptable measure for primary prevention studies. Items were written following a comprehensive review of the literature on alcohol dependence and alcoholism. Based upon the responses of 315 respondents to the 100-item initial version of the scale, the 45-item CAUS was developed. The CAUS was then cross-validated on a local sample (n = 274) and a provincial sample (n = 745). Estimates of internal consistency were .91, .96, and .94, respectively, for the initial and cross-validation samples. Correlations of .48 and .69 were obtained between the CAUS and the Michigan Alcohol Screening Test for the initial and local cross-validation samples. In the provincial cross-validation sample a correlation of .62 was obtained between the CAUS and the Usual Weekly Alcohol Index. Preliminary cutting scores were developed to identify those at risk for alcoholism, and alcoholics. The CAUS has potential use as an evaluative and predictive instrument in a variety of primary prevention programs.     

Risk-factor research and prevention programs for anxiety disorders: a translational research framework

The aim of the present essay is to discuss the interconnection between risk-factor research and prevention program development for panic-spectrum psychopathology. We argue that prevention of panic-spectrum psychopathology specifically, and anxiety disorders more generally, is likely to be best advanced through active, systematic translation of basic, risk-factor research. After operationalizing key terminology, we present some exemplar risk-factor candidates for panic-spectrum psychopathology, summarize research related to their role as risk-factors for panic problems, and link this discussion to risk-factor nomenclature. We then present a translational framework for extrapolating extant knowledge on these and other potential risk-factors for panic-spectrum psychopathology with respect to the development of preventative interventions. The proposed translational framework is intended to describe a forward-feeding process by which risk-factor research could be used by clinical researchers to inform prevention programs; and reciprocally, how such prevention knowledge could be most effectively utilized to drive new, clinically focused risk-factor research.     

Primary and secondary prevention programs for dating violence: A review of the literature

Recent research has consistently demonstrated that a significant proportion of dating relationships are characterized by violent interactions. Aggression that occurs in the context of dating relationships is associated with a variety of deleterious effects in the context of the current relationship, and provides a potential trajectory to more severe forms of violence in later relationships. These data have led researchers and practitioners to develop and implement programs designed to prevent such violent dating behaviors. This comprehensive review examines the literature on primary and secondary prevention programs for dating violence, with emphases on methodological and theoretical issues. Ubiquitous limitations of the current research are identified, as well as future directions and implications for researchers and practitioners in the field.