Parental sense of competence is one of the central dimensions targeted on psychosocial interventions aimed at supporting at-risk families. Researchers and practitioners need reliable instruments to assess the parental role adapted for these families. Although the Parental Sense of Competence (PSOC) scale has been frequently used to assess this construct, there is still no adapted version for Portuguese parents. In this study, the reliability, validity, and factor structure of the PSOC scale is examined with a clinical sample of 146 mothers from at-risk families receiving psychosocial interventions for family preservation from Child Protective Services. Results show that the Portuguese version of the PSOC measures three distinct constructs with acceptable psychometric properties: Efficacy, dissatisfaction, and controllability. As expected, the obtained factors were significantly and positively related to parenting alliance and family cohesion, and negatively associated with parenting stress. In sum, the proposed Portuguese version shows reliability and validity evidences to measure three relevant dimensions of parental self-evaluation, and it constitutes a cost- and time-effective instrument suited for at-risk mothers.Junta de Andalucí

a b s t r a c tThis paper analyses the implementation characteristics of the Family Education and Support program, a theory-driven, needs-based, and evidence-based positive parenting program originally developed for the Andalusian family preservation services. The implementation process of 34 trials of the FAF program with 155 participants was analyzed. Cluster analyses were also performed to explore variability in implementation conditions from a comprehensive perspective. Results showed different implementation profiles that moderated the FAF effectiveness (namely lengthier interventions, higher program fidelity, and practitioners' positive perceptions and satisfaction with the program). The relevance of examining implementation process across several trials is discussed in order to distinguish core and non-core FAF components, as well as the need for combining faithful and adaptable implementations that guarantee the ecologic validity of evidence-based positive parenting programs. © 2016 Colegio Oficial de Psicólogos de Madrid. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). El programa de «Formación y apoyo familiar» para familias en situación de riesgo psicosocial: el papel del proceso de implementación * Corresponding author. E-mail address: victoria@us.es (M.V. Hidalgo).

The main aim of the present study was to examine the factor structure, internal consistency, and some additional psychometric properties of the Antisocial Process Screening Device–Self-Report (APSD-SR) among a large forensic sample of incarcerated male juvenile offenders ( N = 438). The results, based on this forensic sample, support the use of the APSD-SR in terms of its factor structure, and internal consistency despite the fact an item had to be removed from the callous-unemotional (CU) dimension. Statistically significant positive associations were found with measures of psychopathic traits, CU traits, narcissism, and aggression, as well as negative associations with a measure of empathy. Findings provide support for the use of the APSD-SR among the incarcerated male juvenile offender population.

Scene‐Based Psychodramatic Family Therapy (SB‐PFT) is an innovative treatment used with troubled adolescents and their parents to improve family relationships and reduce adolescents’ problematic behavior. It integrates the principles of family therapy, psychodrama, and multiple‐family group methodology. This research is a pilot study to obtain empirical evidence on the SB‐PFT therapeutic process by gauging the perception of change of troubled adolescents and their parents, and assess the perceived helpfulness of its methodology and techniques. Ten multiple‐family intervention groups were drawn up, with 110 participants (63 adolescents and 47 parents), and we adopted a qualitative methodology with focus groups, using an inductive analysis of 290 active constructions of participant narratives. Concerning perception of change, the adolescents reported mainly gaining in social support, prosocial attitudes, keys to problem solving, and expression of emotions due to the treatment. The parents perceived improvement in social support, keys for educational practices, emotional well‐being, and expression of emotions due to the treatment. Regarding the perceived helpfulness of methodology and techniques, both adolescents and parents highlighted the usefulness of the group methodology for gaining social support, relativizing the problem, and expressing emotions. Additionally, participants referred to role‐playing and mirror techniques as the most useful techniques. In conclusion, this first study on SB‐PFT presents and describes its treatment for troubled adolescents and their parents. The participants’ positive perception of their personal and relational change after treatment should serve to promote further studies with quantitative methodology in order to verify the effectiveness of SB‐PFT treatment.

Mental health problems during adolescence constitute a major public health concern today for both families and stakeholders. Accordingly, different family-based interventions have emerged as an effective treatment for adolescents with certain disorders. Specifically, there is evidence of the effectiveness of concrete approaches of systemic family therapy on the symptoms of adolescents and family functioning in general. However, few studies have examined the effectiveness of other relevant approaches, such as structural and strategic family therapy, incorporating parent–child or parental dyadic measurement. The purpose of this study was to test the effectiveness of a structural–strategic family therapy with adolescents involved in mental health services and their families. For this purpose, 41 parents and adolescents who participated in this treatment were interviewed at pre-test and post-test, providing information on adolescent behavior problems, parental sense of competence, parental practices, parenting alliance, and family functioning. Regardless of participants’ gender, adolescents exhibited fewer internalizing and externalizing problems after the treatment. Parents reported higher family cohesion, higher satisfaction and perceived efficacy as a parent, and healthier parental practices (less authoritarian and permissive practices, as well as more authoritative ones). An interaction effect between parenting alliance and gender was found, with more favorable results for the mothers. In conclusion, this paper provides evidence of the usefulness of structural–strategic family therapy for improving family, dyadic, and individual facets in families with adolescents exhibiting mental health problems.

There is overwhelming consensus among policy makers, academics, and professionals about the need to support families in their childrearing tasks. Consequently, European countries have been encouraged to develop family support interventions aimed at guaranteeing children's rights, targeting particularly those children in situations of psychosocial risk. While a certain amount of evidence exists regarding how family support is generally delivered in certain European countries, with a particular focus on parenting initiatives, this paper aims to take existing evidence one step further by providing an updated review focusing on two core components of the Council of Europe's Recommendation on Positive Parenting: families at psychosocial risk as the target population, and family education and support initiatives as the delivery format. The scope of the study was therefore broad, in both geographical and conceptual terms. An online survey was conducted with experts from 19 European countries to gather information regarding how they perceive family education and support initiatives for families at psychosocial risk. Both quantitative and qualitative data were analysed by computing frequencies/percentages and by following a thematic synthesis method, respectively. The results revealed both similarities and disparities as regards provider profiles, intervention characteristics, and quality standards. Practical implications are discussed, such as the need to diversify initiatives for at‐risk families in accordance with the tenets of progressive universalism, the ongoing need for an evidence‐based, pluralistic approach to programmes, and the skills and qualifications required in the family support workforce. This study constitutes a first step towards building a common family support framework at a European level, which would encompass family support and parenting policies aimed at families at psychosocial risk.

No abstract

Resumen:Pese a que disponemos de información relevante sobre qué aspectos se relacionan con la eficacia de los programas de prevención de drogadicciones en el ámbito escolar, existen aún datos contradictorios que hacen necesario continuar arrojando luz sobre esta cuestión. En esta investigación se trató de determinar cuáles eran las variables que, según los estudios de revisión, fomentan la eficacia de estos programas y qué peso tiene su evidencia empírica; además se examinaron algunas características de los diseños de evaluación en los que las variables habían demostrado su eficacia. Se llevó a cabo una búsqueda sistemática de la literatura que dio lugar a la extracción de 1622 artículos y al análisis final de 17 estudios de revisión. Su análisis permitió identificar 29 variables relacionadas con la eficacia de los programas de prevención, las cuáles fueron ordenadas en función del peso de la evidencia empírica que los apoyaba.2 Además, las características de los estudios incluidos en la revisión mostraron la necesidad de incrementar la rigurosidad y calidad de los diseños de evaluación en este ámbito.Palabras clave: meta-revisión, eficacia, programas escolares, prevención de drogadicciones. Abstract:Relevant information about effectiveness of school-based drug prevention programs is available. Despite this, there is still a gap about drawing a comprehensive map concerning this available evidence. The aim of this research consisted of reviewing empirical evidence from a comprehensive perspective in order to extract relevant variables for efficacy of schoolbased drug prevention programs and establish its evidence's weight. A systematic review of periodical literature published was conducted, extracting 1622 papers from which 17 studies were analyzed. An in-deep analysis of these publications led us to identify 29 effective key factors. The need for getting better rigorousity and quality in evaluation designs was also highlighted.