Parent Attendance in a Family-Based Preventive Intervention Delivered in Latin America and the United States.

In Latin America, there is an increasing interest in the implementation and dissemination of evidence-based, family-centered interventions to prevent youth behavioral problems. While families' participation in interventions is integral to achieving the interventions' desired impact, little is known about what predicts Latin American families' attendance. The current study provides a unique opportunity to explore the participation of families living in the United States, Ecuador, and Chile in an evidence-based intervention, Familias Unidas. We tested for differences in attendance rates, family functioning variables, and adolescent behavioral problem variables, then applied a hierarchical multiple regression to (a) identify which variables significantly predicted program attendance and (b) assess whether the country in which the intervention was implemented in moderated the relationship between predictors and program attendance. On average, Chilean and Ecuadorian parents were more engaged and attended more sessions than parents living in the United States. Across samples, there was significant differences in family functioning and adolescent behavioral problem variables. However, effective parent-adolescent communication was the only significant predictor of lower program attendance. A significant interaction effect revealed that even though Chilean parents had high parent-adolescent communication, they were more likely to attend sessions, compared to parents living in the United States. We highlight the promise of engaging and retaining families, across U.S. and Latin American samples, into a culturally syntonic, family-based intervention, and discuss potential explanations for success in Chile and Ecuador. Researchers interested in implementing interventions in Latin America could utilize these findings to better target participants and intervention efforts.

Informed consent comprehension among vulnerable populations in Ecuador: video-delivered vs. in-person standard method.

The informed consent comprehension process is key to engaging potential research subject participation. The aim of this study is to compare informed consent comprehension between two methods: standard and video-delivered. We compared the in-person and video-delivered informed consent process in the Familias Unidas intervention. We evaluated comprehension using a 7-item true/false questionnaire. There were a total of 152 participants in the control group and 87 in the experimental. General characteristics were similar between both groups (p > 0.05). First-attempt informed consent comprehension was higher in the intervention group but was not statistically significant (80% and 78% respectively p = 0.44). A video-delivered informed consent process did not differ from the standard method of informed consent in a low educational and socioeconomic environment.

Efficacy of a Brief Intervention to Reduce Substance Use and Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection Risk Among Latino Youth.

PURPOSE: Familias Unidas is an efficacious and effective family-based intervention for preventing and reducing substance use and unsafe sexual behaviors among Latino youth. To facilitate its dissemination, Familias Unidas was shortened from a 12-week intervention to a 6-week intervention and evaluated. We hypothesized that brief Familias Unidas would be efficacious in reducing substance use and unsafe sexual behaviors relative to a comparison condition. METHODS: We randomized 160 ninth-grade Latino adolescents and their families to brief Familias Unidas or a community practice control condition. Adolescents were surveyed at baseline and 6, 12, and 24 months after baseline. RESULTS: At 24 months, youth randomized to brief Familias Unidas had a significantly lower sexual initiation rate (34.0%) relative to control (55.0%), p = .02. Brief Familias Unidas also increased positive parenting. Moderation analyses revealed that brief Familias Unidas was significantly associated with decreased substance use initiation among girls (30.4% vs. 64.0%, respectively; p = .02), but not boys (28.0% vs. 26.7%, respectively; p = .91). Brief Familias Unidas was also significantly associated with reduced unsafe sex among adolescents aged 15 years or less (p < .001), but not among older adolescents (p = .37). Moderating effects were also found for family-level variables. CONCLUSIONS: Brief Familias Unidas was efficacious in reducing sex initiation and improving positive parenting. Moderation analyses suggested that brief Familias Unidas was efficacious in reducing substance use initiation and unsafe sex for certain Hispanic adolescent subgroups, highlighting the importance of conducting moderation analyses, and of targeting interventions for specific subgroups.