Creating Lasting Family Connections® (CLFC)
Problems addressed
Drug abuse
Alcohol abuse
Low parental skills
Effectiveness

Promising

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Promising

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Life periods served
Children (4 to 13 years)
Teenagers (14 to 17 years)
Where the program was applied
Education establishment
Country of application
United States
Description

This is a family-centered program to help build resilience among children and adolescents aged 9 to 17 and reduce the frequency of abuse of alcohol and other drugs.
The curriculum focuses on:
1) Imparting knowledge about the use of drugs and alcohol, including tobacco;
2) Improving communication and conflictresolution skills;
3) Building coping mechanisms to resist negative social influences;
4) Encouraging the use of community services when personal or family problems arise;
5) Generating self-knowledge, personal responsibility, and respect for others;
6) Delaying the onset and reducing the frequency of alcohol and drug abuse among parents and young participants.
The intervention lasts 18 to 20 weeks and includes two groups, one for parents/guardians and one for their children.

Impact evaluations

Impact evaluation studies showed that the program was effective in relation to knowledge of, attitude toward, and beliefs about substance use, with an effect size of 1.12 (95% CI 0.69, 1.55). It is promising in terms of improving the uptake of mental health and/or substance use treatment, with an average effect size of 0.32 (95% CI: 0.07, 0.57). However, it had no significant impact on family cohesion, parenting practices, alcohol consumption and disorders, and general substance use [1] [2].

Bibliographic reference

[1] Johnson, K., Berbaum, M., Bryant, D., & Bucholtz, G. (1995). Evaluation of Creating Lasting Connections: A program to prevent alcohol and other drug abuse among high risk youth (Final evaluation repórt). Louisville, KY: Urban Research Institute.

[2] Johnson, K., Bryant, D. D., Collins, D. A., Noe, T. D., Strader, T. N. & Berbaum, M. (1998). Preventing and reducing alcohol and other drug use among high-risk youths by increasing family resilience. Social Work, 43(4), 297–308. https://doi.org/10.1093/sw/43.4.297

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