Familias Fuertes

Mental Health Substance Use Prevention or Treatment Does Not Currently Meet Criteria

Familias Fuertes is a family skills training program adapted from the Strengthening Families Program: For Parents and Youth 10-14. Familias Fuertes is designed to serve Spanish-speaking Latin American families with youth ages 10–14. Familias Fuertes aims to help parents increase their youth’s protective factors, such as pro-social peer relationships, and reduce their youth’s risk factors for psychotropic substance abuse and HIV/AIDS.

 

Familias Fuertes consists of multi-family group sessions. Each session contains three components: parent sessions, youth sessions, and family sessions. During the first half of each session, parents and youth meet separately for parent sessions and youth sessions. During the second half of each session, parents and youth meet together for family sessions. Throughout all sessions, group facilitators use narrated videos of common youth-parent scenarios to help deliver the program.

 

During parent sessions, group facilitators teach parents skills to provide their youth with nurturing support and promote positive youth behavior. Skills include how to establish rules and set limits. Parents also learn how to advocate for their youth and seek resources in their communities. During youth sessions, group facilitators help youth identify goals and dreams, manage stress and peer pressure, and form healthy relationships with their parents and friends. Group facilitators try to instill youth with an appreciation for their parents and teach youth about the benefits of helping others.

 

During family sessions, families participate in structured activities designed to promote parent-youth communication, shared values, and mutual appreciation. Additionally, parents and youth are asked to practice these skills in between group sessions.


Familias Fuertes does not currently meet criteria to receive a rating because no studies of the program achieved a rating of moderate or high on design and execution.


Date Research Evidence Last Reviewed: Mar 2022


Sources

The program or service description, target population, and program or service delivery and implementation information were informed by the following sources: the program or service manual, the program or service developer’s website, and the California Evidence Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare.


This information does not necessarily represent the views of the program or service developers. For more information on how this program or service was reviewed, visit the Review Process page or download the Handbook.

Target Population

Familias Fuertes is designed to serve Spanish-speaking Latin American families with youth ages 10–14.

Dosage

Familias Fuertes is delivered over 7 weekly multi-family group sessions of 10–15 families. Each session lasts 2 hours.

Location/Delivery Setting
Recommended Locations/Delivery Settings

Familias Fuertes can be delivered in a range of settings, including community-based agencies, community centers, and schools.

Education, Certifications and Training

Three group facilitators deliver Familias Fuertes. It is recommended that group facilitators have a professional background in psychology, social work, or education, or have group facilitation skills and experience working with youth, adults, and families.

Group facilitators must complete a 3-day training to become certified facilitators. The training covers program goals, session content, model implementation, and facilitation practice. Group facilitators must complete the training every three years to maintain their certification.

Certified group facilitators can gain additional certification as local agency trainers to deliver training to staff within their agency. To become a local agency trainer, group facilitators must meet a range of requirements, including experience implementing the entire program as both a parent and youth group facilitator, as well as participation in group coordination, planning, recruitment, research, and fidelity activities. Additional requirements include student teaching at a group facilitator training and 8 hours of mentorship and instruction from Familias Fuertes trainers.

Program or Service Documentation
Book/Manual/Available documentation used for review

Organización Panamericana de la Salud. (2009). Manual Familias Fuertes: Guía para el facilitador: Programa familiar para promover la salud y prevenir conductas de riesgo en adolescentes: Una intervención para padres y adolescentes 10 y 14 años.

Available languages

The Familias Fuertes manual is available in Spanish.

Other supporting materials

Iowa State University Familias Fuertes Overview

Pan-American Health Organization Familias Fuertes Overview

For More Information

Pan-American Health Organization

Website: https://www.paho.org/es/temas/salud-adolescente/familias-fuertes

Phone: (202) 974-3000

Contact form: https://www.paho.org/es/contactos

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach

Website: https://www.extension.iastate.edu/sfp10-14/content/familias-fuertes

Email: sfp1014@iastate.edu


Note: The details on Dosage; Location; Education, Certifications, and Training; Other Supporting Materials; and For More Information sections above are provided to website users for informational purposes only. This information is not exhaustive and may be subject to change.

Results of Search and Review Number of Studies Identified and Reviewed for Familias Fuertes
Identified in Search 7
Eligible for Review 2
Rated High 0
Rated Moderate 0
Rated Low 2
Reviewed Only for Risk of Harm 0

Sometimes study results are reported in more than one document, or a single document reports results from multiple studies. Studies are identified below by their Prevention Services Clearinghouse study identification numbers. To receive a rating of supported or well-supported, the favorable evidence for a program or service must have been obtained from research conducted in a usual care or practice setting.


Studies Rated Low

Study 11412

Vasquez, M., Meza, L., Almandarez, O., Santos, A., Matute, R. C., Canaca, L. D., Cruz, A., Acosta, S., Bacilla, M. E. G., Wilson, L., Azuero, A., Tami, I., Holcomb, L., & Saenz, K. (2010). Evaluation of a Strengthening Families (Familias Fuertes) intervention for parents and adolescents in Honduras. Southern Online Journal of Nursing Research, 10(3), 13p.

This study received a low rating because the standards for addressing missing data were not met.
Study 11349

Castano Perez, G., Salas, C., & Buitrago, C. (2020). Evaluation of the prevention program: 'Strong Families: Love and Limits' in Colombia. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 18, 459-470. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-019-00218-7

This study received a low rating because baseline equivalence of the intervention and comparison groups was necessary and not demonstrated.


Studies Not Eligible for Review

Study 11357

Correa, M. L., Zubarew, T. G., Valenzuela, M. T., & Salas, F. P. (2012). Evaluation of the program "Strong Families: Love and Limits" in families with teenagers aged 10 to 14 years. Revista Médica de Chile, 140(6), 726-731. https://doi.org/10.4067/S0034-98872012000600005

This study is ineligible for review because it is not available in English (Study Eligibility Criterion 4.1.3).

Study 11390

Mejia, A., Emsley, R., Fichera, E., Maalouf, W., Segrott, J., & Calam, R. (2018). Protecting adolescents in low- and middle-income countries from interpersonal violence (PRO YOUTH Trial): Study protocol for a cluster randomized controlled trial of the Strengthening Families Programme 10-14 ("Familias Fuertes") in Panama. Trials, 19(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-018-2698-0

This study is ineligible for review because it does not use an eligible study design (Study Eligibility Criterion 4.1.4).

Study 11397

Orpinas, P., Reidy, M. C., Lacy, M. E., Kogan, S. M., Londoño-McConnell, A., & Powell, G. (2014). Familias Fuertes: A feasibility study with Mexican immigrants living in low-income conditions in the southeastern United States. Health Promotion Practice, 15(6), 915-923. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524839914523430

This study is ineligible for review because it does not use an eligible study design (Study Eligibility Criterion 4.1.4).

Study 12388

Orpinas, P., Ambrose, A., Maddaleno, M., Vulanovic, L., Mejia, M., Butron, B., Sosa-Gutierrez, G., & Soriano, I. (2014). Lessons learned in evaluating the Familias Fuertes program in three countries in Latin America. Revista Panamericana de Salud Pública, 36(6), 383-390.

This study is ineligible for review because it does not use an eligible study design (Study Eligibility Criterion 4.1.4).

Study 12390

Reidy, M. C., Orpinas, P., & Davis, M. (2012). Successful recruitment and retention of Latino study participants. Health Promotion Practice, 13(6), 779-787. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524839911405842

Orpinas, P., Reidy, M. C., Lacy, M. E., Kogan, S. M., Londono-McConnell, A., & Powell, G. (2014). Familias Fuertes: A feasibility study with Mexican immigrants living in low-income conditions in the southeastern United States. Health Promotion Practice, 15(6), 915-923. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524839914523430 

This study is ineligible for review because it does not use an eligible study design (Study Eligibility Criterion 4.1.4).