Strengthening Families Program Online for Teens and Families

ABSTRACTIn this Phase II SBIR we provide an integrated platform of research and commercialization activities to develop, implement, and evaluate a 10-session entertaining web-based family skills training and youth drug prevention program derived from the evidence-based Strengthening Families Program (SFP Online). The proposed research builds off of Phase I mixed-methods formative evaluation that led to the development of a single session prototype. In Phase II we extend these efforts to develop a scalable, accessible and affordable skills training program with wider reach that can be remotely delivered to families. Traditional facilitator-led group programs are costly and labor intensive; and research consistently documents numerous barriers to their widespread availability. Making family skills training programs affordable and providing alternative delivery mechanisms is required for wide spread dissemination of effective primary prevention efforts. Computer- mediated ‘digital’ environments provide alternative means of program delivery when they can preserve implementation fidelity of the program’s active ingredients, avoid program drift, and ensure high adherence. This was the main goal of our Phase I activities and a major concern in the alpha prototype development. Toward this end, we engaged participatory action research conducting focus groups with targeted consumers (parents and youth), key informant interviews conducted with family service agency providers who would champion the program, and interviewed experts in e-learning and prevention scientists. We then used this information to produce a novel interactive, multimedia web-based version of SFP. We also conducted extensive post-production usability testing. In Phase II we propose to test the full beta version of SFP Online with all 10 sessions, using a mini module format (multiple sessions delivered weekly) in a longitudinal three- condition randomized control trial (SFP Online, attention control Home-use DVD/videos, and wait-listed minimal-contact control condition). We will conduct extensive cognitive pretesting of the online curriculum materials for ease of comprehension, acceptance, engagement, gaming attractiveness, and cultural diversity. We also propose testing durable effects using a short-longitudinal 3-month follow-up. Additional analyses will examine moderators of program outcomes including measures of engagement (i.e., session exposure, performance criteria, and usage metrics), to determine factors that facilitate or inhibit program effectiveness. Using a three-condition non-inferiority trial, we will then contrast SFP Online program outcomes with (1) attention control Home-use DVD/videos outcomes and, (2) traditional 14-session group-classroom facilitator- led program outcomes. Comparison of the effect sizes between the three conditions can yield important information about whether interactivity achieves superior program outcomes. The long-range goals of this proposal are to create a viable commercialization platform to extend the reach of family-based skills training, while also bringing an affordable product to those in greatest need.