Effectiveness of culturally adapted Strengthening Families Programme 6-11 years among Portuguese families
| Pages | 151-160 |
| Date | 15 June 2015 |
| Published date | 15 June 2015 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JCS-02-2014-0010 |
| Author | Cátia C. A. Magalhães,Karol L. Kumpfer |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Vulnerable groups,Children's services |
Effectiveness of culturally adapted
Strengthening Families Programme
6-11 years among Portuguese families
Cátia C.A. Magalhães and Karol L. Kumpfer
Dr Cátia C.A. Magalhães is
based at the ESEV –IPV,
Polytechnic Institute of Viseu,
Viseu, Portugal.
Professor Karol L. Kumpfer is
based at the Department of
Health Promotion and
Education, University of Utah,
Salt Lake City, Utah, USA and
Alta Institute, Salt Lake City,
Utah, USA.
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to compare the outcomes from the Portuguese Strengthening
Families Programme (SFP) with those from other countries to see if they are equally effective despite the new
context. SFP was selected for cultural adaptation because comparative effectiveness reviews find that SFP is
the most effective parenting and family intervention (Foxcroft et al., 2003, 2012). Standardised cultural
adaptations of SFP have resulted in successful outcomes in 35 countries.
Design/methodology/approach –The outcomes for the SFP six to 11 years Portuguese families (n¼41)
were compared to the SFP six to 11 years international norms (n ¼1,600) using a quasi-experimental,
non-equivalent control two group pre- and post-test design. A 2×2 ANOVA generated the outcome tables
including p-values and Cohen’s d effect sizes. Standardised test scales were used and measured
21 parenting, family and child risk and protective factors.
Findings –Statistically significant positive results (po0.05) were found for 16 or 76.2 per cent of the
21 outcomes measured for Portuguese families. The Portuguese effect sizes were similar to the SFP
international norms for improvements in the five parenting scales (d ¼0.61 vs 0.65), five family scales
(d ¼0.68 vs 0.70) and seven children’s scales (d ¼0.48 vs 0.48) despite these norms having larger effect
sizes than the USA norms. Hence, the cultural adaptation did not diminish the outcomes and SFP
Portuguese families can benefit substantially from SFP participation.
Originality/value –A Portuguese culturally adapted version of SFP had never been developed or evaluated;
hence, this paper reports original findings.
Keywords Evaluation, Portuguese cultural adaptation, Strengthening families programme
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
The prevention of health and mental health problems in children and adolescents is of great
international concern. One of the major issues is drug use and misuse. Worldwide substance
abuse has been a concern for many years but recently there have been alarming rates of
increasing adolescent alcohol, tobacco and other drug use. In many industrialised countries,
adolescent legal and illegal substance use has been rising for the past five years (European
Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction, 2012; Johnston et al., 2012, 2013), along with
concerns about risky consumption patterns in Europe and the USA (Bröning et al., 2012; Hibell
et al., 2009; Friese and Grube, 2010) and the increasing levels of prevalence among girls
(Kumpfer et al., 2008; Kumpfer, 2014). The biggest recent increase in adolescents’substance
use has been in the use of new psychoactive substances –marijuana, prescription drugs and
bingeing on alcohol. Not only are adolescents suffering from substance abuse but also from
problems with the law related to underage tobacco and alcohol misuse and illegal drug abuse, as
Received 24 February 2014
Revised 3 July 2014
Accepted 7 May 2015
DOI 10.1108/JCS-02-2014-0010 VOL. 10 NO. 2 2015, pp. 151-160, © Emerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 1746-6660
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JOURNAL OF CHILDREN'S SERVICES
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