Project Family
In 1992-1993, a preliminary randomized, controlled efficacy study of the Preparing for the Drug Free Years (PDFY) preventive intervention was conducted. PDFY, a family-focused program designed to prevent adolescent substance abuse and other problem behaviors, had not previously been evaluated with a rural population. The pilot efficacy study included 209 families of 6th and 7th graders enrolled in rural schools in two Iowa counties. Multimethod, multi-informant measurement procedures were employed in the pre- and posttest assessments.
Initiated in 1993, Project Family's Initial Longitudinal Efficacy Trial includes an evaluation of two family-focused interventions designed to prevent adolescent substance abuse and other problem behaviors. The two interventions, Preparing for the Drug Free Years (now Guiding Good Choices) and the Iowa Strengthening Families Program (now Strengthening Families Program: For Parents and Youth 10-14), were delivered to families when their child was in the 6th grade. 667 families, recruited from 33 rural school districts in southern Iowa, participated in the trial pretest assessment. Subsequent assessments included 6th grade posttests and follow-up assessments when the adolescents were in the 7th, 8th, 10th, and 12th grades. Multimethod, multi-informant measurement procedures were employed for each wave of data collection.
Publications
(2017). Gender moderation of the intergenerational transmission and stability of depressive symptoms from early adolescence to early adulthood. Journal Of Youth And Adolescence, 46(1), 248-260.
(2017). New students’ peer integration and exposure to deviant peers: Spurious effects of school moves?. The Journal Of Early Adolescence, 27(9), 1254-1279. Retrieved from http://jea.sagepub.com/cgi/doi/10.1177/0272431616659563
(2014). Universal family-focused intervention with young adolescents: effects on health-risking sexual behaviors and STDs among young adults. Prevention Science, 15(Supplement 1), S47-S58.
(2014). Emergence of mixed-sex friendship groups during adolescence: Developmental associations with substance use and delinquency. Developmental Psychology, 50(11), 2449-2461.
(2014). Revisiting “What they think”: Adolescent drinking and the importance of peer beliefs. Criminology, 52(3), 488-513.
(2013). Longitudinal effects of universal preventive intervention on prescription drug misuse: Three randomized controlled trials with late adolescents and young adults. American Journal Of Public Health, 103(4), 665-672.
(2013). The role of the self-fulfilling prophecy in young adolescents' responsiveness to a substance use prevention program. Journal Of Applied Social Psychology, 43(9), 1784-1798.
(2013). Peers and the emergence of alcohol use: Influence and selection processes in adolescent friendship networks. Journal Of Research On Adolescence, 23(3), 500-512.
(2012). Benefits of universal intervention effects on a youth protective shield 10 years after baseline. Journal Of Adolescent Health, 50(4), 414-417.
(2012). Do peers' parents matter? A new link between positive parenting and adolescent substance use. Journal Of Studies On Alcohol And Drugs, 73(3), 423-433.
(2012). Sequence of alcohol involvement from early onset to young adult alcohol abuse: Differential predictors and moderation by family-focused preventive intervention. Addiction, 107(12), 2137-2148.
(2012). Substance misuse prevention and economic analysis: Challenges and opportunities regarding international utility. Substance Use And Misuse, 47(8/9), 877-888.
(2012). Internalizing symptoms: Effects of a preventive intervention on developmental pathways from early adolescence to young adulthood. Journal Of Youth And Adolescence, 41(6), 788-801.
(2011). Self-verification as a mediator of mothers' self-fulfilling effects on adolescents' educational attainment. Personality And Social Psychology Bulletin, 37(5), 587-600.
(2011). Impact challenges in community science-with-practice: Lessons from PROSPER on transformative practitioner-scientist partnerships and prevention infrastructure development. American Journal Of Community Psychology, 48(1-2), 106-119.
(2011). Economic analysis of methamphetamine prevention effects and employer costs. Journal Of Studies On Alcohol And Drugs, 72(4), 577-585.
(2011). Popularity trajectories and substance use in early adolescence. Social Networks, 33(2), 101-112.
(2011). Positive childhood experiences and positive adult functioning: Prosocial continuity and the role of adolescent substance use. Journal Of Adolescent Health, 49(2), 180-186.
(2011). Thrill seeking and religiosity in relation to adolescent substance use: Tests of joint, interactive, and indirect influences. Psychology Of Addictive Behaviors, 25(4), 683-696.
(2011). Longitudinal associations of alcohol involvement with subjective well-being in adolescence and prediction to alcohol problems in early adulthood. Journal Of Youth And Adolescence, 40(9), 1215-1224.
(2011). Team factors that predict to sustainability indicators for community-based prevention teams. Evaluation And Program Planning, 34(3), 283-291.
(2011). Translating family-focused prevention science into public health impact: Illustrations from partnership-based research. Alcohol Research And Health, 34(2), 188-203. Retrieved from http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/arh342/188-203.htm
(2011). Six-year sustainability of evidence-based intervention implementation quality by community-university partnerships: The PROSPER study. American Journal Of Community Psychology, 48(3-4), 412-425.
(2009). Universal intervention as a protective shield against exposure to substance use: Long-term outcomes and public health significance. American Journal Of Public Health, 99(11), 2026-2033.
(2009). Universal intervention effects on substance use among young adults mediated by delayed adolescent substance initiation. Journal Of Consulting And Clinical Psychology, 77(4), 620-632.
(2009). Gender moderation and social developmental mediation of the effect of a family-focused substance use preventive intervention on young adult alcohol abuse. Addictive Behaviors, 34(6-7), 599-605.
(2008). Increasing School Success Through Partnership-Based Family Competency Training: Experimental Study of Long-Term Outcomes. School Psychology Quarterly, 23(1), 70-89.
(2008). The mediation of mothers' self-fulfilling effects on their children's alcohol use: Self-verification, informational conformity, and modeling processes. Journal Of Personality And Social Psychology, 95(2), 369-384.
(2008). Translating family-focused prevention science into effective practice: Toward a translational impact paradigm. Current Directions In Psychological Science, 17(6), 415-421.
(2008). Dimensions of adolescent alcohol involvement as predictors of young-adult major depression. Journal Of Studies On Alcohol And Drugs, 69(2), 275-285.
(2008). Long-term effects of universal preventive interventions on prescription drug misuse. Addiction, 103(7), 1160-1168.
(2007). Opportunities to meet challenges in rural prevention research: Findings from an evolving community-university partnership model. Journal Of Rural Health, 23(Supplement s1), 42-54.
(2007). Influence of a family-focused substance use preventive intervention on growth in adolescent depressive symptoms. Journal Of Research On Adolescence, 17(3), 541-564.
(2007). Longitudinal effects of a universal family-focused intervention on growth patterns of adolescent internalizing symptoms and polysubstance use: Gender comparisons. Journal Of Youth And Adolescence, 36(6), 725-740.
(2006). Self-fulfilling prophecy effects of mothers' beliefs on children's alcohol use: Accumulation, dissipation, and stability over time. Journal Of Personality And Social Psychology, 90(6), 911-926.
(2006). Universality of effects: An examination of the comparability of long-term family intervention effects on substance use across risk-related subgroups. Prevention Science, 7(2), 209-224.
(2006). Long-term effects of universal preventive interventions on methamphetamine use among adolescents. Archives Of Pediatrics And Adolescent Medicine, 160(9), 876-882.
(2006). Gender-related quality of parent-child interactions and early adolescent problem behaviors: Exploratory study with midwestern samples. Journal Of Family Issues, 27(6), 826-849.
(2005). Externalizing behaviors as predictors of substance initiation trajectories among rural adolescents. Journal Of Adolescent Health, 37(6), 493-501.
(2005). Longitudinal modeling of adolescent normative beliefs and substance initiation. Journal Of Alcohol And Drug Education, 49(2), 7-41.
(2005). Assertiveness among young rural adolescents: Relationship to alcohol use. Journal Of Child And Adolescent Substance Abuse, 14(3), 39-68.
(2005). Toward a comprehensive strategy for effective practitioner-scientist partnerships and larger-scale community health and well-being. American Journal Of Community Psychology, 35(3/4), 107-126.
(2004). Family-focused preventive interventions: Evaluating parental risk moderation of substance use trajectories. Journal Of Family Psychology, 18(2), 293-301.
(2004). Self-fulfilling prophecies: The synergistic accumulative effect of parents' beliefs on children's drinking behavior. Psychological Science, 15(12), 837-845.
(2004). Unique influence of mothers and fathers on their children's antisocial behavior. Journal Of Marriage And Family, 66(3), 762-778.
(2004). Internalizing, social competence, and substance initiation: Influence of gender moderation and a preventive intervention. Subst Use Misuse, 39(6), 963-991.
(2004). Program provider and observer ratings of school-based preventive intervention implementation: Agreement and relation to youth outcomes. Health Education And Behavior, 31(2), 242-257. Retrieved from http://heb.sagepub.com/content/31/2/242.long
(2004). Brief family intervention effects on adolescent substance initiation: School-level growth curve analyses 6 years following baseline. Journal Of Consulting And Clinical Psychology, 72(3), 535-542.
(2004). Engaging rural parents in family-focused programs to prevent youth substance abuse. The Journal Of Primary Prevention, 24(3), 223-242.
(2003). The effects of incentives and research requirements on participation rates for a community-based preventive intervention research study. The Journal Of Primary Prevention, 24(1), 25-41.
(2003). The self-fulfilling influence of mother expectations on children's underage drinking. Journal Of Personality And Social Psychology, 84(6), 1188-1205.
(2003). Exploratory study of a preventive intervention with general population African American families. Journal Of Early Adolescence, 23(4), 435-468.
(2003). Reducing adolescents' growth in substance use and delinquency: Randomized trial effects of a parent-training prevention intervention. Prevention Science, 4(3), 203-212.
(2003). A generalizability approach to assessing the effects of ethnicity and training on observer ratings of family interactions. Journal Of Social And Personal Relationships, 20(2), 171-191.
(2002). Universal family-focused interventions in alcohol-use disorder prevention: Cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit analyses of two interventions. Journal Of Studies On Alcohol, 63(2), 219-228.
(2002). Two studies of proximal outcomes and implementation quality of universal preventive interventions in a community-university collaboration context. Journal Of Community Psychology, 30(5), 499-518.
(2002). Family- and community-level predictors of parent support seeking. Journal Of Community Psychology, 30(2), 153-171.
(2002). Evaluation of a social contextual model of delinquency: A cross-study replication. Child Development, 73(1), 175-195.
(2002). Family-centered preventive intervention science: Toward benefits to larger populations of children, youth, and families. Prevention Science, 3(3), 145-152.
(2002). Project Family prevention trials based in community-university partnerships: Toward scaled-up preventive interventions. Prevention Science, 3(3), 203-221.
(2002). Longitudinal substance initiation outcomes for a universal preventive intervention combining family and school programs. Psychology Of Addictive Behaviors, 16(2), 129-134.
(2001). Preparing for the Drug Free Years: Session-specific effects of a universal parent-training intervention with rural families. Journal Of Drug Education, 31(1), 47-68.
(2001). Randomized trial of brief family interventions for general populations: Adolescent substance use outcomes 4 years following baseline. Journal Of Consulting And Clinical Psychology, 69(4), 627-642.
(2001). Working with and conducting research among American Indian families. American Behavioral Scientist, 44(9), 1466-1481.
(2001). Modeling the effects of a preventive parent training intervention: An experimental test of "Preparing for the Drug Free Years". Unpublished manuscript.
(2000). Competency Training: The Strengthening Families Program for Parents and Youth 10‑14. OJJDP Family Strengthening Series, Juvenile Justice Bulletin, 11 pages. Washington, DC: U.S. Dept. of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Retrieved from https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/182208.pdf
(2000). Effects of the "Preparing for the Drug Free Years" curriculum on growth in alcohol use and risk for alcohol use in early adolescence. Prevention Science, 1(3), 125-138.
(2000). Research on family engagement in preventive interventions: Toward improved use of scientific findings in primary prevention practice. The Journal Of Primary Prevention, 21(2), 267-284.
(2000). Modeling factors influencing enrollment in family-focused preventive intervention research. Prevention Science, 1(4), 213-225.
(2000). Reducing adolescents' aggressive and hostile behaviors: Randomized trial effects of a brief family intervention 4 years past baseline. Archives Of Pediatrics And Adolescent Medicine, 154(12), 1248-1257.
(1999). Preparing for the Drug Free Years. OJJDP Family Strengthening Series, Juvenile Justice Bulletin, 12 pages. Washington, DC: U.S. Dept. of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Retrieved from https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/173408.pdf
(1999). Project Family: A partnership integrating research with the practice of promoting family and youth competencies. In Serving Children and Families Through Community-University Partnerships: Success Stories (Vol. 1, pp. 127-137). New York: Springer Science & Business Media .
(1999). Assessing a public health approach to delay onset and progression of adolescent substance use: Latent transition and log-linear analyses of longitudinal family preventive intervention outcomes. Journal Of Consulting And Clinical Psychology, 67(5), 619-630.
(1999). Assessing the benefits of a parenting skills training program: A theoretical approach to predicting direct and moderating effects. Family Relations, 48(1), 67-77.
(1999). Modeling long-term parent outcomes of two universal family-focused preventive interventions: One-year follow-up results. Journal Of Consulting And Clinical Psychology, 67(6), 975-984.
(1999). Alcohol initiation outcomes of universal family-focused preventive interventions: One- and two-year follow-ups of a controlled study. Journal Of Studies On Alcohol, Supplement 13, 103-111.
(1999). Engaging families in longitudinal preventive intervention research: Discrete-time survival analysis of socioeconomic and social-emotional risk factors. Journal Of Consulting And Clinical Psychology, 67(1), 157-163.
(1999). A protective process model of parent-child affective quality and child mastery effects on oppositional behaviors: A test and replication. Journal Of School Psychology, 37(1), 49-71.
(1998). A universal intervention for the prevention of substance abuse: Preparing for the Drug Free Years. In Drug abuse prevention through family interventions (pp. 130-159). Rockville, MD: National Institute on Drug Abuse. Retrieved from http://archives.drugabuse.gov/pdf/monographs/monograph177/monograph177.pdf
(1998). Family-focused prevention intervention research: A pragmatic perspective on issues and future directions. In Drug Abuse Prevention Through Family Interventions. NIDA Research Monograph 177 (pp. 459-510). Rockville, MD: National Institute on Drug Abuse. Retrieved from https://archives.drugabuse.gov/pdf/monographs/monograph177/459-510_Spoth.pdf
(1998). Risk moderation of parent and child outcomes in a preventive intervention: A test and replication. American Journal Of Orthopsychiatry, 68(4), 565-579.
(1998). Analyzing data from experimental studies: A latent variable structural equation modeling approach. Journal Of Counseling Psychology, 45(1), 18-29.
(1998). Direct and indirect latent-variable parenting outcomes of two universal family-focused preventive interventions: Extending a public health-oriented research base. Journal Of Consulting And Clinical Psychology, 66(2), 385-399.
(1997). Effects of a preventive parent-training intervention on observed family interactions: Proximal outcomes from Preparing for the Drug Free Years. Journal Of Community Psychology, 25(4), 337-352.
(1997). The Extension Service as key mechanism for research and services delivery for prevention of mental health disorders in rural areas. American Journal Of Community Psychology, 25(4), 515-544.
(1997). A prospective validation study of inclination, belief, and context predictors of family-focused prevention involvement. Family Process, 36(4), 403-429.
(1997). Challenges in defining and developing the field of rural mental disorder preventive intervention research. American Journal Of Community Psychology, 25(4), 425-448. Retrieved from http://link.springer.com/journal/10464/25/4/page/1
(1996). Illustrating a framework for rural prevention research: Project Family studies of rural family participation and outcomes. In Preventing Childhood Disorders, Substance Abuse, and Delinquency (pp. 299-328). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
(1996). Illustration of a market segmentation technique using family-focused prevention program preference data. Health Education Research, 11(2), 259-267.
(1996). A model of the effects of protective parent and peer factors on young adolescent alcohol refusal skills. The Journal Of Primary Prevention, 16(4), 373-394.
(1996). Protective factors and young adolescent tendency to abstain from alcohol use: A model using two waves of intervention study data. American Journal Of Community Psychology, 24(6), 749-770.
(1996). A theory-based parent competency model incorporating intervention attendance effects. Family Relations, 45(2), 139-147.
(1996). Barriers to participation in family skills preventive interventions and their evaluations: A replication and extension. Family Relations, 45(3), 247-254.
(1995). A controlled parenting skills outcome study examining individual difference and attendance effects. Journal Of Marriage And The Family, 57(2), 449-464.
(1995). Interaction style, problem-solving behavior, and family problem-solving effectiveness. Child Development, 66(1), 98-115.
(1995). Parent motivation to enroll in parenting skills programs: A model of family context and health belief predictors. Journal Of Family Psychology, 9(3), 294-310.
(1994). The family context of adolescent vulnerability and resilience to alcohol use and abuse. Sociological Studies Of Children, 6, 55-86.
(1994). Effective recruitment of parents into family-focused prevention research: A comparison of two strategies. Psychology And Health, 9(5), 353-370.
(1993). Consumer-focused data collection in prevention program evaluation: Rationale and illustrations. Evaluation And The Health Professions, 16(3), 278-294.
(1993). Sociodemographic factors and parent beliefs relevant to the prevention of adolescent behavior problems. Family Perspective, 27(3), 285-303.
(1993). An alternative method for sample size determination in substance misuse prevention research. International Journal Of The Addictions, 28(11), 1085-1094.
(1993). Survey of prevention-relevant beliefs and efforts to enhance parenting skills among rural parents. The Journal Of Rural Health, 9(3), 227-239.
(1993). Identifying program preferences through conjoint analysis: Illustrative results from a parent sample. American Journal Of Health Promotion, 8(2), 124-133.
(1993). Study of participation barriers in family-focused prevention: Research issues and preliminary results. International Quarterly Of Community Health Education, 13(4), 365-388.