Development of a School-Based Parenting Intervention to Prevent Substance Use Among Chilean Adolescents

Introduction: Parenting interventions are evidence-based approaches to prevent substance use among adolescents. Yet, most research supporting the used of this strategy comes from research conducted in the United States (US). Although parenting interventions developed and evaluated in the US have been implemented in Chile (e.g., Iowa Strengthening Families Program or Familias Unidas), these programs have not been developed to fit the needs and preferences of potential users, and therefore have not been sustained over time. A partnership between researchers from Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile (University) and the community agency Fundacion Parentesis (Non-governmental organization) developed the ¡Vamos x Más! (¡VxM!, Let’s go for more!) parenting program to prevent substance use among Chilean families with adolescents in 5^th and 6^th grades. The first version of the program had 4 components: 1) Motivational, 2) Parent-child sessions, 3) Interactive media messages, and 4) Support for change. The purpose of this study is to present the perceptions of experts, potential implementers, and potential participants (parents and youth) about a preliminary version of the program.

Methods: A convergent parallel mixed methods study design was used to evaluate stakeholder’s perceptions regarding the program. The qualitative component included one focus group with experts in substance use prevention, parenting programming, adolescent health, and government programs, three focus groups with potential implementers (school principals, teachers, and counselors), three focus groups with parents of youth in 5^th and 6^th grades, and three focus groups with youth in those school grades. Each focus group was conducted at a different school to represent public, private, and subsidized types of schools. The quantitative data consisted on a questionnaire that included demographic information and items from assessing the intervention characteristics of that have been associated with greater uptake from the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR, e.g., potential benefit, usability, scalability, etc.). Participants completed surveys after participating in focus groups. Focus groups were analyzed using thematic analysis. Descriptive statistics summarized data from participant’s surveys.

Results: In general, participants valued the ¡VxM! program. Experts recommended including a school component to ensure sustainability. School staff worried about teacher overload and responding to new needs from parents. Parents expected more attention to self-control strategies rather than only focusing in parenting skills, wanted more information through media messages, and valued support from a known person. Youth proposed including family games and sports. The final version of the ¡VxM! program included 4 components: 1) School-family partnership, 2) Parent-child workshops, 3) Interactive media messages, and 4) Support for change.

Conclusion: These findings support that the final version of the ¡VxM! program is ready to be tested in a pilot study evaluating implementation feasibility and potential benefit.