Family-level influence on attendance in a preventive intervention program
Open Access
Author:
Doub, Allison Elizabeth
Area of Honors:
Human Development and Family Studies (University College)
Degree:
Bachelor of Science
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Doug Coatsworth, Ph D, Thesis Supervisor J Douglas Coatsworth, Thesis Supervisor Dr. Kathryn Bancroft Hynes, Honors Advisor Cynthia A. Stifter, Faculty Reader
Keywords:
substance use prevention family-system attendance
Abstract:
Abstract
This study examined the association between family-level and demographic characteristics and attendance in the Strengthening Families Program for Families and Youth (10-14), a seven-week universal preventive intervention program. The variables included in this study were: family communication, family adaptability, parent-adolescent communication, perceived need, annual income, marital status, and parent education. Contrary to all hypotheses, the only variable that was associated with attendance was marital status, with two-parent families and their youth attending more sessions than single-parent families. Post-hoc analyses revealed differences in attendance predictors between single-parent and two-parent families. When the sample was split by marital status, there was some support for family-context variables predicting above demographic and individual-level variables, though these results must be interpreted with caution due to the small sample size. The paper concludes with a discussion of all of the results, the limitations of this study, and implications for future research in this area.
