This study examines whether the addition of a supplemental parent education intervention can increase theeffect size of keepin' it REAL, a SAMHSA-model, culturally grounded youth substance use preventionprogram found to be efficacious among ethnically diverse middle school youth of the Southwest. Familydisruption, often a consequence of acculturative adaptation and acculturative stress, frequently operates asa pathway to adverse health outcomes among Latino and other minority families. Reducing risk factors whileenhancing protective factors constitutes a known approach to preventing substance use and other riskbehaviors. By strengthening family functioning (parental involvement, family support, parental monitoring,and parent-child communication), a supplemental parent intervention can promote effective acculturation andintegration into mainstream American social networks. As parents exercise culturally relevant parenting skillsthat are consistent with promoting their children's health and well-being, they serve as direct sources ofinfluence in reducing their children's substance use risks. The proposed research will adapt a culturallyrelevant and proven efficacious parenting program for Latino families (Familias Unidas), implement it as asupplement to keepin' it REAL, and compare its effects on family functioning and youth substance useattitudes, norms, and behaviors to two alternate conditions: keepin' it REAL without a parent component anda control condition. Nine Phoenix public schools (3/condition) and 450 families (150/condition) willparticipate. Following the development and pilot test of the parent component, implementation of theinterventions and assessment (pretest and two posttests) will occur in two non-overlapping cohorts of twoyears each. In addition to assessing the supplemental intervention's efficacy, we will gather information oncritical life issues to understand better the challenges to healthy adaptation among diverse Latino families, totest various multivariate models of resilience and healthy adjustment, and to build culturally sensitive theoryof adaptive family function and its effects in developing Latino adolescents' skills in avoiding substance useand other risk behaviors. These models and theory can inform the design and implementation of moreeffective, culturally relevant interventions to avoid familial and individual dysfunction, strengthen families andto reduce health disparities among Hispanic/Latino and other minority families and youth.
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