Results of a Participatory Community Trial to Reduce Smoking Susceptibility in Latino Youth: Padres Informados/Jovenes Preparados

Purpose: Parental acculturation may be a moderator of family-based interventions. Padres Informados, Jovenes Preparados (Padres) is a family-skills building prevention intervention that aims to reduce susceptibility to tobacco and other substances among Latino adolescent youth (ages 10 to 14) with immigrant parents.  The five-year study utilized a community based participatory research approach to develop and implement the intervention  across 7 community sites including  three social service agencies, two clinics, one middle school, and one University Extension site.  This presentation examines parent and youth intervention results and key cultural moderators.

Methods:  This study was a randomized controlled trial with 352 Latino families including an immigrant parent/caregiver and an adolescent youth. Families were randomized into intervention (n=173) or delayed treatment conditions (n=172). The intervention included 8 group family-skill sessions for parents (2.5 hrs. each) and 4 youth sessions (youth social competencies); parents and youth came together the last 30 minutes for skill building in 3 sessions.

Measures included, youth cognitive susceptibility to smoking, parenting efficacy, parenting practices (monitoring, personal involvement, and others), parent-youth interpersonal relations (positive attachment, acceptance, others). Parent moderators included: years in United States, language use at home and parent adherence to traditional Latino values. Participants completed surveys at baseline, post-test and 6 month post-intervention. Analysis strategies whether randomization works on key confounding variables (youth susceptibility) across study condition (treatment, control). Logistic regression models were  assessed odd ratios and program effects.

Results: 

Of the 392 participant enrolled in the study.  Youth participants (n=346) were approximately evenly distributed by gender (49% male) and were largely born in the US (77%). Participating parents were female (82%), with an average age of 38.2 years old. The majority of parents, (84%) were born in Mexico, and had on average 9.3 years of education.  Parents attended approximately 60% of the program (average 5 sessions). 

Results of parenting practices and parent-youth interpersonal relations indicate significant group effects, in the intended direction for parent solicitation, involvement, harsh parenting, positive attachment, acceptance and communication.  Preliminary youth outcomes at 6 months follow-up indicated no overall group (intervention versus control) effect on youth smoking susceptibility. There was a significant group effect among youth whose parents reported low adherence to traditional values (OR =02.98, p=0.05).  

Conclusions: Padres prevented tobacco susceptibility for youth whose parents reported low adherence to traditional cultural values.  Cultural values may influence families’ response to prevention interventions.