Positive Family Support (PFS)
Where the program was applied
Country of application
Description

This is a multicomponent intervention program implemented in the school context, but focused on families with children and adolescents from 11 to 17 years old. The objective is to reduce exposure to risk factors and improve communication and supervision skills in the family.
At the universal intervention level, the program supports and promotes parental supervision of adolescents, and the involvement and management of situations faced by children in their daily lives. Specific motivational interventions are also carried out with the parents of adolescents at a higher risk.
At the selective intervention level, the Family Check-Up (FCU) motivational method is used to promote better parenting practices in cases that require them. After the application of three FCU sessions, a set of family interventions is offered to improve parental supervision skills.

Impact evaluations

Impact evaluation studies showed that the program reduced psychoactive substance use, antisocial behavior, and the number of arrests, while increasing the social skills of families [1] [2].

Bibliographic reference

[1] Dishion, T. J., Kavanagh, K., Schneiger, A., Nelson, S. & Kaufman, N. K. (2002). Preventing early adolescent substance use: A family-centered strategy for the public middle school. Prevention Science: The Official Journal of the Society for Prevention Research, 3(3), 191–201. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1019994500301

[2] Connell, A. M., Dishion, T. J., Yasui, M. & Kavanagh, K. (2007). An adaptive approach to family intervention: Linking engagement in family-centered intervention to reductions in adolescent problem behavior. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 75(4), 568–579. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.75.4.568

Information source