The effectiveness of the Resilient Families school-based parent education program in promoting adolescent health

The Resilient Families intervention is a school-based, prevention program designed to help students and their parents develop knowledge, skills, and support networks to promote adolescent health and wellbeing during the first two years of secondary school (Years 7 and 8 in Victoria, Australia). The five intervention components are 1) a 10-session student curriculum delivered by Year 7 teachers during "Health or Pastoral Care" classes; 2) The Parenting Adolescents Quiz. A parent education evening delivered in a 2-hour, large-group, evening forum offered for all Year 7 parents at the school; 3) Parenting Adolescents: A Creative Experience. An 8-session, parent education program conducted with small-groups of Year 7 and 8 parents who volunteer to attend 2-hour evenings at the school; 4) Policies and programs implemented by the school to build a "community of parents" and improve communication with and support for parents during the early secondary school years; 5) Parent education handbooks mailed to all Year 8 parents. Twelve schools have been randomly selected and have agreed to implement the intervention and they are being compared with 12 randomly selected control schools that were not offered the five intervention components. Students and parents complete similar surveys in both the intervention and control schools to enable evaluation.