Published in:
01-04-2012
The Strong African American Families–Teen Trial: Rationale, Design, Engagement Processes, and Family-Specific Effects
Authors:
Steven M. Kogan, Gene H. Brody, Virginia K. Molgaard, Christina M. Grange, Desirée A. H. Oliver, Tracy N. Anderson, Ralph J. DiClemente, Gina M. Wingood, Yi-fu Chen, Megan C. Sperr
Published in:
Prevention Science
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Issue 2/2012
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Abstract
This study addresses two limitations in the literature on family-centered intervention programs for adolescents: ruling out nonspecific factors that may explain program effects and engaging parents into prevention programs. The Rural African American Families Health project is a randomized, attention-controlled trial evaluating the efficacy of the Strong African American Families–Teen (SAAF–T) program, a family-centered risk-reduction intervention for rural African American adolescents. Rural African American families (n = 502) with a 10th-grade student were assigned randomly to receive SAAF–T or a similarly structured, family-centered program that focused on health and nutrition. Families participated in audio computer-assisted self-interviews at baseline and 6-month follow-up. Program implementation procedures yielded a design with equivalent doses, five sessions of family-centered intervention programming for families in each condition. Of eligible families screened for participation, 76% attended four or five sessions of the program. Consistent with our primary hypotheses, SAAF–T youth, compared to attention-control youth, demonstrated higher levels of protective family management skills, a finding that cannot be attributed to nonspecific factors such as aggregating families in a structured, interactive setting.