ABSTRACT
Background: "Strong Families" is a family program aimed at preventing risk behaviors in adolescents from 10 to 14 years of age. It has been developed by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) and is based on the Iowa Strengthening Families Program. This program has been certified and has been proven to effectively prevent adolescent drug and alcohol abuse in several countries around the globe. Aim: To evaluate the Strong Families Program toward adjusting current parenting styles, aiming to decrease risk behaviors in Chilean adolescents. Material and Methods: A quasi-experimental study involving 120 families, selected from 6 schools within the Metropolitan Region of Santiago, Chile. A group of 129 adolescents and 124 parents were chosen by convenience to be intervened. A control group of 223 adolescents and 165 parents were not intervened. The families that underwent intervention attended to 7 educational sessions. The intervened and control groups were evaluated before intervention as well as 6 months after intervention, by means of self-administered evaluation tools. Results: The intervened parents showed significant parenting changes six months after intervention, which resulted in less yelling (p = 0.007), insults (p = 0.002) and lack of control when their children misbehaved (p = 0.008). Regarding the risk behaviors in the intervened and control adolescents, no changes were observed in terms of the consumption rate of tobacco, alcohol or illegal drug use, or in sexual risk behaviors. Conclusions: After six months of intervention, the Program proved to be effective in modifying parenting styles. However, no changes were observed in risk behaviors among adolescents, which could occur within a longer period of time, as reported in other studies.
Subject(s)
Adolescent , Child , Female , Humans , Male , Adolescent Behavior , Family Health/standards , Program Evaluation , Chile , Parent-Child Relations , Risk , Risk-TakingABSTRACT
Objective: This study examined family satisfaction with the education they received in the Strong Families Workshop, whose purpose is risk behavior prevention in adolescents aged 10 to 14. Patients and Method: This was a descriptive, cross-sectional study involving 100 families (parents or guardians and adolescents) from five high schools in the Metropolitan Region of Santiago, Chile. The workshop consisted of seven sessions for parents, adolescents and families. An instrument was used on participants at 6 months post intervention. It included aspects relating to the structure, process and results of the workshop. Results: 100 percent of the families attended the complete workshop. The degree of satisfaction with the family sessions in both groups was greater than 90 percent, and greater than 80 percent with respect to the schedule, frequency, quality of videos, written program material, teacher quality and content completion achievements. Conclusions: There is great interest on the part of parents and adolescents to jointly participate in family strengthening workshops. This may justify the implementation of such at the school level, considering the role of educators as promoters of health and the family as a protective factor in healthy adolescent development.
Objetivo: Este trabajo estudió la satisfacción en familias con la educación recibida en el Taller Familias Fuertes, cuyo propósito es la prevención de conductas de riesgo en adolescentes de 10 a 14 años. Pacientes y Método: Estudio descriptivo, transversal, en 100 familias (padres o tutores y adolescentes) de cinco colegios de la Región Metropolitana de Santiago de Chile. El taller, constó de siete sesiones para padres, adolescentes y familia. Se aplicó un instrumento a los participantes a los 6 meses post intervención, que consideró aspectos de la estructura, proceso y resultados del taller. Resultados: El 100 por ciento de las familias asistió a la totalidad del taller. El grado de satisfacción en ambos grupos con la sesiones en familia fue mayor al 90 por ciento y mayor al 80 por ciento respecto del horario, frecuencia, vídeos, material escrito del programa, calidad docente y logros del cumplimiento de los contenidos. Conclusiones: Existe un gran interés de padres y adolescentes en participar en forma conjunta en talleres de fortalecimiento familiar, por lo tanto se justifica ampliar su implementación a nivel escolar considerando el rol de los educadores como agentes promotores de la salud y a la familia como un factor protector del desarrollo sano del adolescente.