Understanding Process in Group-Based Intervention Delivery: Social Network Analysis and Intra-entity Variability Methods as Windows into the "Black Box".

Although the majority of evidence-based programs are designed for group delivery, group process and its role in participant outcomes have received little empirical attention. Data were collected from 20 groups of participants (94 early adolescents, 120 parents) enrolled in an efficacy trial of a mindfulness-based adaptation of the Strengthening Families Program (MSFP). Following each weekly session, participants reported on their relations to group members. Social network analysis and methods sensitive to intraindividual variability were integrated to examine weekly covariation between group process and participant progress, and to predict post-intervention outcomes from levels and changes in group process. Results demonstrate hypothesized links between network indices of group process and intervention outcomes and highlight the value of this unique analytic approach to studying intervention group process.

The Mindfulness-enhanced Strengthening Families Program: integrating brief mindfulness activities and parent training within an evidence-based prevention program.

Teaching mindfulness to parents as well as adolescents through a family-centered intervention approach can have a positive impact on the parent-youth relationship. In mindful parenting, caretakers are aware of their own feelings and emotions, and interact with their adolescents in a mindful way by demonstrating emotional awareness, attentive listening, nonjudgment, self-regulation, and compassion. This chapter discusses the need for family-centered mindfulness approaches in adolescence. It introduces the Mindfulness-enhanced Strengthening Families Program, describes specific program activities and their theoretical rationale, and presents initial empirical evidence from pilot studies of the intervention.

The Application of Intensive Longitudinal Methods to Investigate Change: Stimulating the Field of Applied Family Research.

The use of intensive longitudinal methods (ILM)-rapid in situ assessment at micro timescales-can be overlaid on RCTs and other study designs in applied family research. Particularly, when done as part of a multiple timescale design-in bursts over macro timescales-ILM can advance the study of the mechanisms and effects of family interventions and processes of family change. ILM confers measurement benefits in accurately assessing momentary and variable experiences and captures fine-grained dynamic pictures of time-ordered processes. Thus, ILM allows opportunities to investigate new research questions about intervention effects on within-subject (i.e., within-person, within-family) variability (i.e., dynamic constructs) and about the time-ordered change process that interventions induce in families and family members beginning with the first intervention session. This paper discusses the need and rationale for applying ILM to family intervention evaluation, new research questions that can be addressed with ILM, example research using ILM in the related fields of basic family research and the evaluation of individual-based interventions. Finally, the paper touches on practical challenges and considerations associated with ILM and points readers to resources for the application of ILM.

Integrating mindfulness with parent training: effects of the Mindfulness-Enhanced Strengthening Families Program.

There is growing support for the efficacy of mindfulness training with parents as an intervention technique to improve parenting skills and reduce risk for youth problem behaviors. The evidence, however, has been limited to small scale studies, many with methodological shortcomings. This study sought to integrate mindfulness training with parents into the Strengthening Families Program: For Parents and Youth 10-14 (SFP 10-14), an empirically-validated family-based preventive intervention. It used a randomized-controlled comparative effectiveness study design (N = 432 families, 31% racial/ethnic minority) to test the efficacy of the Mindfulness-Enhanced Strengthening Families Program (MSFP), compared to standard SFP 10-14 and a minimal-treatment home study control condition. Results indicated that, in general, MSFP was as effective as SFP 10-14 in improving multiple dimensions of parenting, including interpersonal mindfulness in parenting, parent-youth relationship quality, youth behavior management, and parent well-being, according to both parent and youth reports at both postintervention and 1-year follow-up. This study also found that in some areas MSFP boosted and better sustained the effects of SFP 10-14, especially for fathers. Although the pattern of effects was not as uniform as hypothesized, this study provides intriguing evidence for the unique contribution of mindfulness activities to standard parent training.

Change in participant engagement during a family-based preventive intervention: ups and downs with time and tension.

The efficacy of preventive interventions is related to both the delivery of content and the uptake of that content. Although much research has focused on the quality of delivery, few studies have examined the factors that influence uptake. This study examines how and why participants' engagement-conceptualized as a dynamic process wherein participants interact with each other, the interventionists, and the intervention curriculum-changes over time. We apply growth curve models to repeated measures of engagement obtained from 252 families during a 7-week intervention trial. In the models, we examine (a) whether and how engagement changes over time, and the extent of between-person differences in change; and (b) how those changes and differences are related to chronic and session-specific aspects of family tension, while also controlling for differences across parent sex and 2 versions of the Strengthening Families Program: For Parents and Youth Ages 10-14 (SFP 10-14). Results show that, on average, engagement increased over time, linearly with some deceleration, with substantial differences in both level and rates of change. Higher in-session chronic family tension was related to lower initial levels of engagement but not rates of change. Sessions when families displayed more session-specific tension were characterized by different levels of engagement for parents, depending on their level of chronic tension. Overall, our results highlight the importance of considering engagement as a dynamic construct that changes over time in complex ways. Further understanding of the many factors that influence engagement can promote both better delivery and better uptake of intervention curriculum.

Parent and athlete perceptions of special olympics participation: utility and danger of proxy responding.

Abstract Participation in athletics has benefits for persons with intellectual disabilities and their parents. Our purposes here were to confirm these benefits and to determine whether reports from athletes and parents were comparable (i.e., to test the validity of proxy responding). We conducted interviews with 34 Special Olympics sailing/kayaking athletes and their parents. Interviews took place at a regional Special Olympics competition and 12 months later by telephone. Findings suggest that Special Olympics participation has a positive impact on parents and athletes. However, relative to athletes, parents overstated the benefit, indicating that parental proxy responding should not be routinely used.