Active Parenting of Teens: Families in Action (OJJDP Model Program Guide)

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Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) Serving Children, Families and Communities

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Active Parenting of Teens: Families in Action

Intervention:

Active Parenting of Teens: Families in Action (an adaptation of the Active Parenting Teens Program) is a family-based alcohol-, tobacco-, and other drug (ATOD) abuse–prevention program that targets families with children entering middle school. The specific goals of Active Parenting of Teens: Families in Action are to 1) increase youths’ positive attachment to their families and their schools, 2) increase their positive peer relations, 3) promote unfavorable attitudes toward the use of ATODs, and 4) increase self-esteem. The goals for parents are very similar: 1) increase positive attachment to their families; 2) increase positive involvement in their children’s schools; and 3) promote unfavorable attitudes toward the use of ATODs by minors.

The program is based on a social developmental model that emphasizes the contributions of family, school, and peers to adolescent development and proposes that if a youth bonds with prosocial individuals and social groups he or she is less likely to use ATODs. The program teaches a combination of general life skills and social resistance techniques and provides opportunities for youths to practice these skills. It also incorporates modules promoting self-esteem, since Active Parenting of Teens: Families in Action staff hypothesized that youths who feel good about themselves are more likely to feel that they can succeed in school and make friends.

The program serves both parents and their children, specifically concentrating on families with children entering middle school or between the ages of 11 and 14. The program can be used with both males and females.

The Active Parenting of Teens: Families in Action program includes several components or modules, which promote youths’ attachment to their family, school, and prosocial peers. These address a wide range of topics, including parent–child communication, positive behavior management, adolescent alcohol and tobacco use, interpersonal relationships for adolescents, school success, family fun activities, and enhancement of adolescent self-esteem.

The program is offered several times each year in middle and junior high schools as an afterschool activity. There are six 2½-hour sessions. Sessions are administered once a week for 6 weeks. Typically, the sessions are held in classrooms on weekday evenings, with groups ranging from 5 to 12 families. The core instructional component is the use of videotaped vignettes that show different families handling a variety of problems. There is also a parent handbook and an accompanying student handbook and curriculum.

Sessions 1 and 2 concentrate on positive thinking and on using positive, rather than negative, strategies to reach behavioral goals. The sessions also discuss normal adolescent development and emphasize maintaining self-esteem during this difficult period. Sessions 3 and 4 teach interpersonal communication skills and demonstrate the logical consequences of individual actions as part of a family management style. Youths are taught that their actions have consequences; parents are taught how to help their children make appropriate choices. Sessions 5 and 6 focus on applying the resistance skills and concepts from the first four sessions to the prevention of ATOD usage, early sexual activity, and violence. Every session is designed to teach children and parents separately and then bring them together for group activities. Skills are taught through role-playing activities and group discussion of how to handle different situations.

Evaluation Methodology:

Study 1
Abbey and colleagues (2000) used a quasi-experimental design with nonequivalent comparison groups to evaluate the effectiveness of the Active Parenting of Teens: Families in Action program at preventing alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use (ATOD). Four schools in a rural county of northeastern Michigan were used in the evaluation. Almost the entire population in the county was white (96 percent), and 21 percent of the families were below the poverty line.

A baseline survey was administered in fall of the school year to all students; the same survey was administered 1 year later as a follow-up. Participation in Active Parenting of Teens: Families in Action was completely voluntary. Those families who participated in the program served as the treatment group, and those families who did not participate acted as the comparison group. The treatment group had 37 students and 38 parents; the comparison group had 268 students and 134 parents. Parents were mailed a survey with a stamped-and-addressed return envelope to send back to the research team. Treatment students were not significantly different from students in the comparison group. However, treatment parents had significantly lower scores at baseline on attitudes toward tobacco, age at which parents considered it acceptable for their children to drink, and family cohesion. They also reported higher levels of family fighting. That is, the baseline difference favored the comparison group, as the treatment group parents reported more lenient attitudes toward substance use and higher levels of family fighting.

There were several multi-item scales used to measure student and parent attitudes and behavior. Family measures included family cohesion, communication, and fighting. Family cohesion was measured with a nine-item subscale from the Family Environment Scale. Family cohesion assessed the degree of commitment, help, and support that family members provided one another, with higher scores reflecting greater cohesion. Family communication and family fighting were measured with a nine-item scale and a four-item scale, respectively, created by the research team. Example questions included “How many times have you discussed your feelings with your parent (child)?” and “How many times have you yelled at your child (parent)?” School attachment was measured with a 10-item subscale from the Effective School Battery. Attitudes toward ATOD use (rather than actual use) were measured with a seven-item scale that was adapted from previously existing scales. Students and parents both were asked about their attitudes toward ATOD use by minors.

Peer support and self-esteem were measured only for students. Perceptions of friends’ supportiveness were measured with a 15-item subset of the Inventory of Peer Attachment. Self-esteem was measured with the 16-item behavior subscale from the Piers–Harris Children’s Self-Concept Scale. All survey items and scales used had high Cronbach coefficient alphas and are considered reliable.

One-way analyses of variance (ANOVAs) were used to determine the significant differences between program participants (treatment group) and nonparticipants (comparison group). Baseline differences were accounted for in all of the analyses by treating baseline scores and demographics as covariates.

Evaluation Outcome:

Study 1
Family Cohesion and Fighting
Abbey and colleagues (2000) report findings from the 1-year follow-up survey. Students who participated in the Active Parenting of Teens: Families in Action program reported having statistically significantly greater family cohesion and significantly lower levels of family fighting than students in the comparison group.

School Attachment and Self-Esteem
Active Parenting of Teens: Families in Action student participants reported greater school attachment and higher levels of self-esteem than students in the comparison group.

Attitudes Toward Alcohol Use
Treatment group students reported that it was okay to consume alcohol at an age that was significantly older than the age that students in the comparison group reported. Specifically, treatment group students believed that it was acceptable to drink more than a sip of alcohol at age 18 where the comparison group students reported that it was acceptable to drink more than a sip of alcohol at age 17.

Parents’ Attitudes Toward Alcohol Use
Parents’ participating in the program reported statistically significant stronger attitudes in opposition to alcohol use by minors. Parents in the program also reported that alcohol should not be consumed until an age (about 21 years) that was significantly older than the age that parents in the comparison group reported (about 20 years). There were no significant program effects found for parents on any of the other five outcome measures.

Other Information:

References:

Abbey, Antonia, Colleen Pilgrim, Peggy Hendrickson, and Sue Buresh. 2000. “Evaluation of a Family-Based Substance Abuse Prevention Program Targeted for the Middle School Years.” Journal of Drug Education 30(2): 213–28.

Mullis, Fran. 1999. “Active Parenting: An Evaluation of Two Adlerian Parent Education Programs.” The Journal of Individual Psychology 55(2):225–32.

Pilgrim, Colleen, Antonia Abbey, Peggy Hendrickson, and Sue Lorenz. 1998. “Implementation and Impact of a Family-Based Substance Abuse Prevention Program in Rural Communities.” Journal of Primary Prevention 18(3):341–61. (This study was reviewed but did not meet Model Programs Guide criteria for inclusion in the overall program rating.)

Popkin, Michael H. 1989. “Active Parenting: A Video-Based Program.” In Martin J. Fine (ed.). The Second Handbook on Parent Education: Contemporary Perspectives. New York, NY: Academic Press Inc.

Program Specification:

New Rating:

Promising

Re-reviewed Date:

July 2012

Program Type:

Alcohol and Drug Therapy / Education

Family Therapy

Leadership and Youth Development

Ethnicity:

American Indian or Alaska Native

Asian

African American

Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander

Hispanic or Latino (of any race)

White

Gender:

Both

Age:

11 - 14

Target Settings:

Rural

Problem Behaviors:

Alcohol,Tobacco and Other Drug Use

Family Functioning

Risk & Protective Factors:

Risk

Community

Availability of alcohol and other drugs

Family

Family management problems / Poor parental supervision and/or monitoring

Poor family attachment / Bonding

Individual

Antisocial behavior and alienation / Delinquent beliefs / General delinquency involvement / Drug dealing

Favorable attitudes toward drug use/Early onset of AOD use/Alcohol and/or drug use

Poor refusal skills

Peer

Peer alcohol, tobacco, and/or other drug use

Peer rejection

School

Negative attitude toward school / Low bonding / Low school attachment / Commitment to school

Protective

Individual

Healthy / Conventional beliefs and clear standards

Positive / Resilient temperament

Social competencies and problem solving skills

Peer

Good relationships with peers

Involvement with positive peer group activities

School

Opportunities for prosocial school involvement

Strong school motivation / Positive attitude toward school

Student bonding (attachment to teachers, belief, commitment)

Additional Information:

Status:

Program is in operation at this time.

Performance Measures:

Suggested OJJDP Performance Measures for the Program Types(s):

Delinquency Prevention
Family Therapy
Logic Model: PDF
Performance Matrix:PDF
Mental Health Services
Family Therapy
Logic Model: PDF
Performance Matrix:PDF
Delinquency Prevention
Leadership and Youth Development
Logic Model: PDF
Performance Matrix:PDF

Contact Information:

Program Developer:
Michael H. Popkin, Ph.D., or Peggy Hendrickson, M.A., M.S.W., ACSW
Active Parenting Publishers
1220 Kennestone Circle, Suite 130
Marietta, GA 30066
Phone: 800.825.0060
Fax: 770.429.0334
Email: Click Here
Website: Click Here

Training & TA Provider:
Michael H. Popkin, Ph.D., or Peggy Hendrickson, M.A., M.S.W., ACSW
Active Parenting Publishers
1220 Kennestone Circle, Suite 130
Marietta, GA 30066
Phone: 800.825.0060
Fax: 770.429.0334
Email: Click Here
Website: Click Here