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The Strong African American Families–Teen Trial: Rationale, Design, Engagement Processes, and Family-Specific Effects

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Abstract

This study addresses two limitations in the literature on family-centered intervention programs for adolescents: ruling out nonspecific factors that may explain program effects and engaging parents into prevention programs. The Rural African American Families Health project is a randomized, attention-controlled trial evaluating the efficacy of the Strong African American Families–Teen (SAAF–T) program, a family-centered risk-reduction intervention for rural African American adolescents. Rural African American families (n = 502) with a 10th-grade student were assigned randomly to receive SAAF–T or a similarly structured, family-centered program that focused on health and nutrition. Families participated in audio computer-assisted self-interviews at baseline and 6-month follow-up. Program implementation procedures yielded a design with equivalent doses, five sessions of family-centered intervention programming for families in each condition. Of eligible families screened for participation, 76% attended four or five sessions of the program. Consistent with our primary hypotheses, SAAF–T youth, compared to attention-control youth, demonstrated higher levels of protective family management skills, a finding that cannot be attributed to nonspecific factors such as aggregating families in a structured, interactive setting.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA

    Steven M. Kogan, Gene H. Brody, Christina M. Grange, Desirée A. H. Oliver, Tracy N. Anderson, Yi-fu Chen & Megan C. Sperr

  2. Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA

    Virginia K. Molgaard

  3. Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Ralph J. DiClemente & Gina M. Wingood

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  1. Steven M. Kogan
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  2. Gene H. Brody
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  3. Virginia K. Molgaard
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  4. Christina M. Grange
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Correspondence to Steven M. Kogan.

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Kogan, S.M., Brody, G.H., Molgaard, V.K. et al. The Strong African American Families–Teen Trial: Rationale, Design, Engagement Processes, and Family-Specific Effects. Prev Sci 13, 206–217 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-011-0257-y

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