Strong African American Families Program
« Back to list| Category | Type | Target Age Group | Setting | Outcomes | Source of Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Promising Programs | Substance Abuse |
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Reduced initiation of alcohol use and slowed increase in use over time
Developed stronger youth protective factors |
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Description:
This is a family-centered program designed to prevent alcohol use and abuse among rural African American youth and improve the parenting practices of those responsible for the youth. The 7-week program for youth and parents/caregivers designed to:
Strengthen parents'/caregivers' ability to…
- Find a balance between firmness and showing love
- Support youth goals and promote independence
Help youth to…
- Develop healthful goals for the future
- Understand their positive qualities
- Resist temptation and peer pressure to take part in risky behaviors
Work with Families to…
- Build family strengths for supporting youth goals
- Enhance families' racial pride
- Strengthen family communication and support
Special Features of SAAF…
- Culturally sensitive based on prior research with African American families
- Parents and youth learn together
- Activities address protective and risk factors identified during 12 years of research with African American families
- Scientifically evaluated and shown to be effective
- DVD-based program showing positive peer and family interactions
- Highly interactive to keep participants interested
- Easy-to-use teaching materials
Special Features:
- Culturally sensitive program
- Addresses developmentally appropriate goals for parents/caregivers and youth
- Program approach based on 12 years of research with
- African American families
- Scientifically evaluated and shown to be effective
- Integrates videos reflecting positive African American peer and family interactions
- Highly interactive to engage participants
- Easy-to-use teaching materials
Host Agencies May Include:
- Schools
- Churches
- Family agencies
- Any community group working with youth and families
Target Population
African American youth, ages 10-12 and their primary caregivers are the primary targets. Participants may include:
- Families with youth ages 10–14 years
- Single-parent homes
- Two-parent homes
- Foster families
- Families with grandparents as caregivers
- Multiracial families
- Blended families
For more Information or to find Technical Assistance, visit:
Center for Family Research
University of Georgia
http://www.cfr.uga.edu/
More Resources
References and/or Published Evaluations
Research has shown that SAAF program participants:
- Reduced initiation of alcohol use and slowed increase in use over time;
- Increased “regulated-communicative” parenting practices, which contributed to an increase in youth protective factors;
- Developed stronger youth protective factors, which are shown to decrease the likelihood of alcohol use; and
- Developed community partnerships which helped shape the curriculum and the methods used to maintain higher participation rates.
References
Brody, G.H., Murry, V.M., Gerrard, M., Gibbons, F.X., Molgaard, V., McNair, L., Brown, A.C., Wills, T.A., Spoth, R.L., Luo, Z., Chen, Y., & Neubaum-Carlan, A. (2004, May). The Strong African American Families Program: Translating Research Into Prevention Programming. Child Development, 75(3), 900-917.
Brody, G.H., Murry, V.M., Gerrard, M., Gibbons, F.X., McNair, L., Brown, A.C., Wills, T.A., Molgaard, V., Spoth, R.L., Luo, Z., & Chen, Y. (2006, March). The Strong African American Families Program: Prevention of Youths' High-Risk Behavior and a Test of a Model of Change. Journal of Family Psychology, 20(1), 1-11.
Brody, G.H., Murry, V.M., Kogan, S.M., Gerrard, M., Gibbons, F.X., Molgaard, V.. Brown, A.C., Anderson, T., Chen, Y., Luo, Z., & Wills, T.A. (2006, April). The Strong African American Families Program: A Cluster-Randomized Prevention Trial of Long-Term Effects and a Mediational Model. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 74(2), 356-366.
Brody, G.H., Murry, V.M., McNair, L., Chen, Y., Gibbons, F.X., Gerrard, M., & Wills, T.A. (2005, March). Linking Changes in Parenting to Parent-Child Relationship Quality and Youth Self-Control: The Strong African American Families Program. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 15(1), 47-69.
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Additional Information
Provided by the Center for Family Research, September 2010
- Has this program been replicated at other sites? If so, how many and where are they?
Yes. The program used, but not tested, at sites in Denver, Colorado, Waterloo, Iowa and Marietta, Georgia.
- Is there a formal curriculum or program guidelines in place? What is the approximate cost for these materials?
Yes. The cost is $7,000, which includes a site visit for implementation
- What kind of training and technical assistance is available for this program?
- A three-day group facilitator training course
- Program materials provided on a CD so that agencies can reproduce materials at any time
- 10 hours of technical assistance provided to facilitators or agency members after the training
- A 9-minute promotional DVD (see below) that summarizes the SAAF program and includes testimonies from SAAF facilitators and previous participants
- A reproducible PDF copy of the SAAF brochure
- Once the program has been implemented, can an organization obtain assistance with fidelity monitoring or quality assurance?
Yes, we can make arrangements to visit the implementation site in order to provide quality assurance and constructive feedback.
- Is a risk assessment tool typically used to identify referrals for this program? If so, which one?
We do not currently recommend a specific risk assessment tool. We have seen SAAF used as with first-time offenders, and they are referred by the juvenile court or probation officer.
- Which local stakeholders should participate to make program successful?
- Schools
- Churches
- Family agencies
- Any community group working with youth and families
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