Strong African American Families (SAAF) is a culturally tailored, family-centered intervention for 10- to 14-year-old African American youths and their primary caregivers. The goal of SAAF is to prevent substance use and behavior problems among youth by strengthening positive family interactions, preparing youths for their teen years, and enhancing primary caregivers’ efforts to help youths reach positive goals.
Facilitators administer SAAF through seven 2-hour sessions using separate skill-building curricula for youths and primary caregivers. Sessions can be implemented at any time during the week, including weekends. During the first hour of each session, youths and primary caregivers meet separately with facilitators. Topics addressed in the youth sessions include the importance of following house rules; adaptive ways of responding to racism; the formation of goals for the future and plans to attain them; and skills for resisting early sexual involvement, substance use, and other risk behaviors. The primary caregiver sessions address ways in which the caregivers can monitor their children’s behavior; encourage adaptive strategies for their children to respond to racism; and develop adaptive communication skills for discussing sex, substance use, and other risk behaviors. During the second hour of each session, youths and primary caregivers meet as a family with the facilitator and build on what was learned in the separate sessions. In the family sessions, facilitators work with families to build family-based strengths for supporting the youth’s goals, enhancing racial pride, and improving communication and support.