Project

Family Connections Health Disparities

Project Description

This project is a six- and eight-year follow-up of the Family Connections project. In the original study, a universal family-based intervention to prevent drug use and other problem behaviors, Parents Who Care, was evaluated in two formats: self-administered with telephone support and parent and teen group meetings. Families of eighth graders were randomly assigned to one of these interventions or the comparison group which did not receive either intervention. Results suggest the programs worked differently for African American and European American families. This long-term follow up focuses on ethnic differences in program efficacy, risk and protective factors for drug use, and possible biological mediators of the impact of stress on drug use.