Speakers
Description
Authors: Janina Mueller (Department of Health Psychology, University of Klagenfurt), Franziska Waller (Department of Health Psychology, University of Klagenfurt), Lara Barg (Department of Psychology, Bielefeld University), Nina Heinrichs (Department of Psychology, Bielefeld University), Viorel Babii (Asociatia Obsteasca Sanatate Pentru Tineri - Health for Youth Association), Nevena Calovska (Department for Psychology, Faculty for Media and Communication, Singidunum University), Graham Moore (Centre for Development, Evaluation, Complexity and Implementation in Public Health Improvement (DECIPHer), School of Social Sciences, Cardiff University), Antonio Piolanti (Department of Health Psychology, University of Klagenfurt), Marija Raleva (Institute for Marriage, Family and Systemic Practice - ALTERNATIVA), Michael Radloff (Department of Health Psychology, University of Klagenfurt), Swetha Sampathkumar (Centre for Development, Evaluation, Complexity and Implementation in Public Health Improvement (DECIPHer), School of Social Sciences, Cardiff University), Yulia Shenderovich (Centre for Development, Evaluation, Complexity and Implementation in Public Health Improvement (DECIPHer), School of Social Sciences, Cardiff University), Judit Simon (Department of Health Economics, Center for Public Health, Medical University of Vienna), Dennis Wienand (Department of Health Economics, Center for Public Health, Medical University of Vienna), Heather M. Foran (Department of Health Psychology, University of Klagenfurt)
Background: Mental health disorders often emerge early in life, with 34.6% occurring before age 14 and 48.4% before age 18, underscoring the importance of preventive interventions. Parenting programs offer a promising strategy to strengthen family relationships and promote mental well-being. However, most family-based interventions focus primarily on caregivers, resulting in limited evidence regarding their effectiveness for adolescents. A multi-informant approach is recommended to capture symptom expression across different contexts and informants (caregivers, adolescents). The FLOURISH project aims to adapt, optimize, and evaluate an intervention for adolescents aged 10-14 and caregivers in North Macedonia and Moldova. This feasibility study is part of the MOST preparation phase, focusing on testing the core program - PLH for Parents and Teens - alongside three additional components designed to prevent mental health problems and enhance family well-being.
Methods: A single-arm, multicomponent pre-post pilot study was conducted in both countries. Local facilitators delivered the intervention to 64 adolescents and 64 caregivers from September 2023 to January 2024. Participants were caregivers and adolescents.
Results: Pre-post comparisons showed promising results, with caregivers reporting reduced adolescent internalizing behaviors and improved family functioning (d=.03-.42). Adolescents reported minimal changes. Dyadic analyses revealed a partner effect, with caregiver-reported parenting behaviors at baseline predicting adolescents’ self-reported mental health at post-assessment (b=0.395, p=.002). High attendance (87.5%) supported acceptability.
Discussion: Despite limitations such as a small sample size, lack of a comparison condition, recruitment and implementation challenges, this pilot study suggests that the adapted preventive intervention may reduce adolescent internalizing symptoms and enhance family functioning. Caregivers’ assessments appeared to be reliable predictors of adolescent mental health outcomes, highlighting the value of a multi-informant approach. Findings from this study informed revisions to the intervention, measurements, and conceptual model, with further evaluation planned in the Phase 2 factorial trial of the FLOURISH project, involving 576 adolescent-caregiver dyads.
| Conflict of interest | JM, FW, NH, AP, MR (Marija Raleva), VB, YS and HMF have been involved in other research studies involving the PLH program. JS is the developer of the OxCAP-MH and PECUNIA RUM instruments. LB, DW, MR (Michael Radloff) and SS have no competing interest to declare. |
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