Contact:	Donald A. Gordon, Ph.D. Psychology Department Ohio University Athens, OH 45701 Tel: (614) 593–1074 Fax: (614) 593–0579
Main Purpose:	Enhance family relationships and decrease conflict; enhance child adjustment and reduce problem behaviors including substance abuse
Target Group:	Parents, especially low-literacy parents of at-risk children, ages 6 through 18
Description:	Video programs that overcome illiteracy barriers are suitable for families who don't usually attend or finish parenting education classes. The interactive video format was chosen based on research showing its superiority to other forms including lecture, group discussion, and self-paced reading. PAW is based on social learning theory, family systems theory, and cognitive theory. The effective parenting skills selected for focus in this program were chosen because of their general acceptance among experts as critical both to the formation of well adjusted children and adolescents and to the amelioration of the problems common to today's children and adolescents. The program covers communication and problem-solving skills, respect, discipline and reinforcement, chore and homework responsibilities, supervising kids whose peers are a bad influence, step family problems, single-parent issues, violence, and other problems experienced by today's families. It can be delivered in one to two sessions lasting about 3 hours. Parents view videotaped scenes of nine common family problems. For each problem, parents choose a solution. Some solutions result in a worsening of the situation, while others improve the situation. After the solution is played out, it is critiqued. The critiques are the meat of the program, for they point out errors parents made in that scene and explain why these errors led to more problems. The critiques also explain why the effective parenting solution is best, and each parent has an option to have the computer read the material aloud. The program was developed to be used by parents totally unfamiliar with computers, as well as by more experienced audiences.
Evaluation:	The efficacy of the PAW program is being thoroughly evaluated by feedback from parents, teens, courts, and social service agencies. User satisfaction is very high, as rated in five separate evaluation studies. Parents find the program easy to use, realistic and relevant to their concerns, helpful in dealing with children's problem behaviors, and helpful in building their confidence. Parents with preteens and teens (many of whom are delinquents) showing significant behavior problems were evaluated before and after (1 week, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months) using the program. They showed increased knowledge of parenting principles and skills, increased use of the specific skills taught in the program, and reductions in problem behaviors of their children. Reductions in child problem behaviors were clinically significant in half of the children, and the children scored in the normal range of behavior a month after parents used the program. Most parents reported at least moderate improvement in children's behavior. Using matched and randomly assigned control groups, evaluators found no improvement or a worsening of behavior among children of the higher-risk families. These treatment effects are very robust and comparable to interventions taking at least five times longer and requiring trained professionals to deliver.

(Sources: Strengthening America's Families Project, University of Utah, Model Family Strengthening Program Descriptions, and material provided by the author)

Parenting IS Prevention Training of Trainers Workshop, 1998	SAMHSA

Office of National Drug Control Policy