This program is for youth who are 10 to 14 years old and their parents.

Mindfulness-enhanced Strengthening Families Program 10-14 (MSFP 10-14), a community-based program, is designed to cultivate mindfulness in parents as a way of changing patterns of negative parent-youth interactions and fostering healthy parent-youth relationships.

One randomized controlled trial was conducted in which MSFP 10-14 was compared to Strengthening Families Program: For Parents and Youth 10-14 (SFP 10-14) and to a control condition. Results at post-intervention and at a 1-year follow-up indicated that those in MSFP 10-14 saw improvements in several areas of parenting, including parent-youth relationship quality, youth behavior management, and parent well-being, compared to those in the control group. Some of these positive effects were found to be more pronounced in fathers (e.g., greater satisfaction and efficacy in parenting role, better anger management, support and understanding of youth, and compassion and acceptance of youth).

MSFP 10-14 integrates mindfulness activities for parents into the SFP 10-14* curriculum, which is designed to prevent the onset and increase of adolescent substance use and problem behavior. Parents and youth meet separately for the first part of each session, and, then, they work together for the second part of the session. Parent groups focus on mindful parenting and emphasize the following five skills:

• Listen with full attention – pay attention and listen carefully to children during daily interactions;
• Accept self and child without judgment – practice awareness and acceptance of behaviors and traits of self and child;
• Cultivate emotional awareness of self and child – develop awareness of emotions in self and child;
• Practice self-regulation in parenting – learn to slow down one’s reactions and intentionally choose to practice suitable parenting behaviors; and
• Develop compassion for self and child – strengthen a sense of compassion and concern for self and child and the difficulties each experiences in life.

Other activities for parents focus on deep breathing, breathing awareness, brief guided reflections, loving kindness reflections, intention-setting, identifying and labeling emotions, and developing nonjudgmental acceptance. In addition, children receive instruction in methods for resisting peer pressure to use drugs and alcohol and learn coping strategies to manage stress and deal with strong emotions without turning to drugs or alcohol. Working together in groups, parents and children practice communication and conflict resolution skills.

*A separate fact sheet is available for this program.

SFP 10-14 has been used across the United States and in 25 other countries; however, the extent to which MSFP 10-14 has been implemented is unclear.

In the program evaluation, MSFP 10-14 was delivered by facilitators who had at least a bachelor’s degree, experience working with youth or parents, and training and personal experience with a contemplative practice. These facilitators completed a 3-day, certified, training program. Please use details in the Contact section for more information.

Considerations for implementing this program include recruiting a suitable facilitator and making arrangements for them to receive training, acquiring participant buy-in, finding convenient locations and times to hold sessions, possibly providing child care for younger children and a group meal for families, and ensuring the program is implemented with fidelity.

The Clearinghouse can help address these considerations. Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email clearinghouse@psu.edu

If you are interested in implementing MSFP 10-14, the Clearinghouse is interested in helping you! Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email clearinghouse@psu.edu

This program is delivered in 7-weekly, 2-hour sessions.

Information on implementation costs was not located; however, there is an estimated $9.60 cost savings for every $1 invested. Please use details in the Contact section for information.

To move MSFP 10-14 to the Effective category on the Clearinghouse Continuum of Evidence, at least two evaluations must be conducted that demonstrate sustained positive outcomes. One of these studies must be conducted independently of program developers.

The Clearinghouse can help you develop an evaluation plan to ensure the program components are meeting your goals. Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email clearinghouse@psu.edu

Contact the Clearinghouse with any questions regarding this program. Phone: 1-877-382-9185 Email: clearinghouse@psu.edu

You may also contact the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Division of Extension by email info@extension.wisc.edu or visit https://fyi.extension.wisc.edu/strengthening-families/mindfulness-enhanced-strengthening-families-program-msfp/

https://fyi.extension.wisc.edu/strengthening-families/mindfulness-enhanced-strengthening-families-program-msfp/ and Coatsworth et al. (2015).

Coatsworth, J. D., Duncan, L. G., Greenberg, M. T., & Nix, R. L. (2010). Changing Parent’s mindfulness, child management skills and relationship quality with their youth: Results from a randomized pilot intervention trial. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 19(2), 203-217. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-009-9304-8

Coatsworth, J. D., Duncan, L. G., Nix, R. L., Greenberg, M. T., Gayles, J. G., Bamberger, K. T., ... Demi, M. A. (2015). Integrating mindfulness with parent training: Effects of the Mindfulness-Enhanced Strengthening Families program. Developmental Psychology, 51(1), 26-35. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0038212

Coatsworth, J. D., Duncan, L. G., Berrena, E., Bamberger, K. T., Loeschinger, D., Greenberg, M. T., & Nix, R. L. (2014). The Mindfulness-enhanced Strengthening Families Program: Integrating brief mindfulness activities and parent training within an evidence-based prevention program. New Directions for Youth Development, 2014(142), 45-58. https://doi.org/10.1002/yd.20096

Coatsworth, J. D., Hemady, K. T., & George, M. W. (2018). Predictors of group leaders’ perceptions of parents’ initial and dynamic engagement in a family preventive intervention. Prevention Science, 19(5), 609-619. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-017-0781-5

Park, Y. R., Nix, R. L., Duncan, L. G., Coatsworth, J. D., & Greenberg, M. T. (2020). Unfolding relations among mindful parenting, recurrent conflict, and adolescents’ externalizing and internalizing problems. Family Process, 59(4), 1690-1705. https://doi.org/10.1111/famp.12498

Arnaud, N., Baldus, C., Laurenz, L. J., Bröning, S., Brandt, M., Kunze, S., … the IMAC-Mind Consortium. (2020). Does a mindfulness-augmented version of the German strengthening families program reduce substance use in adolescents? study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Current Controlled Trials in Cardiovascular Medicine, 21(1), 114-114. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-020-4065-1

Duncan, L. G., Coatsworth, J. D., & Greenberg, M. T. (2009). Pilot study to gauge acceptability of a mindfulness-based, family-focused preventive intervention. The Journal of Primary Prevention, 30(5), 605-618. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10935-009-0185-9