Family Check-Up Case Study Lecture Notes

Introduction

• Focus on identifying young children at risk for early and persistent antisocial behavior.
• Importance of early intervention to prevent chronic antisocial trajectories.
• Family Check-Up (FCU) program as a preventive intervention during early childhood.

The Family Check-Up (FCU) Program

• Objective: Address normative challenges parents face during early childhood.
• Methodology: Assessment-driven intervention using a health maintenance model.
• Components:
  • Motivational interviewing to promote parental desire for change.
  • Empirically-validated family management procedures.
• Outcome: Clinically meaningful improvements in child and parent functioning.

Key Features of FCU

• Initially developed to reduce problem behavior in high-risk youth.
• Demonstrated effectiveness in reducing conduct and internalizing problems in young children.
• Enhances maternal depression involvement and positive parenting.
• Integrated approach combining basic research and validated change methods.

The Ecological Approach to Family Intervention and Treatment (EcoFIT)

• Core Idea: Assessment-driven and tailored to family needs, utilizing observations and reports.
• Target: Family management and socialization practices in early childhood.

Differences from Traditional Models

• Emphasizes continuous assessment and proactive health maintenance.
• Focus on comprehensive assessment of child and family functioning.
• Use of feedback sessions to motivate change.

Intervention Components

• Motivational Interviewing: Motivates parents to change problematic child behavior.
• Family Management Practices:
  • Parent management training: limit setting, proactive parenting, positive reinforcement.
  • Use of role play and in-vivo practice to teach new skills.

Case Study Overview

• Examined in a larger RCT with 731 low-income families.
• FCU involves three sessions: in-home assessment, GTKY visit, feedback session.

Case Example: G Family

• Included due to sociodemographic and child risk factors.
• Initial issues: High maternal depressive symptoms, high-stress levels, child conduct problems.
• Improvements: Child conduct, maternal depression, positive parenting increased.

Process of FCU

• Assessment: Comprehensive and involves multiple informants and methods.
• Feedback Session: Collaborative, with a focus on strengths and goals.
• Follow-Up: Allows families to determine follow-up treatment amount and intensity.

Case Study Findings

• Marked improvements in child behavior and maternal mental health over two years.
• Highlighted the importance of repeated intervention and tracking over time.

Conclusion

• FCU integrates developmental and intervention research into an ecological, family-based intervention.
• Provides flexibility for clinicians to tailor interventions to family needs.
• Effective across diverse family structures and cultural backgrounds.

References

• Includes studies and models related to FCU's development and effectiveness.