Conclusion
The Strengthening Families Program is a powerful and comprehensive program for family change based on the most recent research. SFP has demonstrated a number of positive results, including decreased use of and intention to use alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs; a reduction in other youth behavior problems; and a lowering of risk factors. At the same time, SFP has enhanced children's protective factors by improving family relations and expanding adults' parenting skills, including parental knowledge of appropriate child-rearing, supervision, and relationship skills, and developmental expectations. A number of evaluation and demonstration projects have assessed the effectiveness of SFP for children of substance abusers, children at risk for placement outside the family because of child abuse and neglect, and low-income rural and urban parents of different ethnic groups.
The SFP program has been tested, evaluated, and replicated in a variety of settings. Positive results have been shown in inner-city Detroit, MI; rural Alabama; the islands of Hawaii; agricultural areas of Iowa; and metropolitan communities of Utah. SFP has been implemented and tested with African Americans, Hispanics, Asian/Pacific Islanders, American Indians, and rural families in low socioeconomic groups.
The Strengthening Families Program is based on the VASC Theory of Drug Abuse and the Social Ecology Model of Adolescent Substance Abuse. These models suggest that family environment is an important factor in deterring the use of alcohol and/or other drugs in youth. Improving parent-child relations should be a major goal of any prevention/intervention program.
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