Staying Connected with Your Teen®
Problems addressed
Drug abuse
Juvenile delinquency
Effectiveness

Promising

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Promising

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Life periods served
Teenagers (14 to 17 years)
Where the program was applied
Community (streets or community centers)
Ambulatory - Health service centers
Country of application
United States
Description

This is a program aimed at preventing psychoactive substance use and other risky behaviors in adolescents, and is applied in activities carried out both with the adolescents themselves and with their parents. The objective is to promote better coexistence and communication in the parent-child relationship, and to reduce the intensity and frequency of problems.
The intervention addresses different issues, including:
1) Setting roles in relation to the adolescent;
2) Identifying and reducing risks;
3) Connecting with the adolescent to strengthen resilience and protection;
4) Learning to work with the family to solve problems;
5) Allowing everyone to contribute;
6) Establishing family policies on health and safety issues;
7) Monitoring the adolescent’s daily life without invading their privacy.

Impact evaluations

According to impact evaluation studies, program participants showed a statistically significant decrease in the use of psychoactive substances after the 24-month follow-up period and in the frequency of drug abuse after the 72-month follow-up period, compared to the control group, which did not receive the intervention. However, there were no statistically significant differences after the 24-month follow-up period in violent and delinquent behavior or in the perception of harm derived from drug abuse [1] [2].

Bibliographic reference

[1] Haggerty, K. P., Skinner, M. L., MacKenzie, E. P. & Catalano, R. F. (2007). A randomized trial of Parents Who Care: Effects on key outcomes at 24-month follow-up. Prevention Science : The Official Journal of the Society for Prevention Research, 8(4), 249–260. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-007-0077-2

[2] Haggerty, K. P., Skinner, M. L., Catalano, R. F., Abbott, R. D., & Crutchfield, R. D. (2015). Long-term effects of staying connected with your teen® on drug use frequency at age 20. Prevention Science, 16, 538-549.

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