6/17/98

Contacts:
Richard Spoth, Institute for Social and Behavioral Research, (515) 294-9752
Ed Adcock, Agriculture Information, (515) 294-2314

NATIONAL AWARD EXTENDS FAMILY PROGRAM RESEARCH

AMES -- Iowa State University research that will evaluate family and youth strengthening programs for rural families in northeast Iowa has received a prestigious national award.

Richard Spoth, a researcher at the Institute for Social and Behavioral Research and the lead investigator on the Capable Families and Youth (CaFaY) project, received a MERIT award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) that extends the research five years. The National Institute of Health and the NIDA provided the study's initial funding of $5.3 million over five years.

MERIT stands for Method To Extend Research In Time and the award is designed to "provide long-term, stable support to investigators whose research competence is distinctly superior and who are likely to continue to perform in an outstanding manner," according to the NIDA award announcement. The award is only the third ever given by NIDA for a prevention program research project.

"The best feature of this award is that it rewards everyone who contributed to the effort to develop and implement this project," Spoth said. "I'm especially pleased for the families and youth who will ultimately benefit. Our project team cares deeply about the well-being of families in Iowa and beyond."

The CaFaY project began with a survey of more than 1,500 families of seventh graders at 36 Iowa schools in northeast Iowa. The study will compare the effectiveness of combining school and family programs designed to strengthen families, prevent youth problems and enhance youth life skills.

One group of students will receive life-skills training at school, through a program developed by Cornell University Medical Center, and their families will participate in the Strengthening Families Program 10-14, adapted by ISU's Institute for Social and Behavioral Research. The second group consists of families whose seventh graders will receive only the school-based training. The comparison group consists of families whose parents will receive reading material on ways to prevent behavioral problems in youth.

CaFaY is part of Project Family, a collection of studies directed by Spoth that seeks to support and strengthen families by enhancing family and youth skills. The four goals of Project Family are to evaluate family and youth programs, to assess who is most likely to benefit from these programs, to determine what motivates families and children to participate and to work with ISU Extension to effectively deliver programs to families and youth.

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