Family Relationships

Although research documents the concerning rates of mental and behavioral health problems (e.g., substance use/initiation) among Indigenous LGBTQ2S+ youth, there is very little known about how to prevent these deleterious issues that devastate Indigenous communities. The study will include \~40 families (Lakota LGBTQ2S+ youth and caregivers) in Rapid City, SD (20 families (10 FAP; 10 wait-list control) and on the nearby Pine Ridge Indian Reservation (10 FAP; 10 wait-list control). Following the baseline survey, families will be randomly assigned to the treatment or wait-list control. Participants will complete an immediate post-test and 6-month follow-up survey to test the hypotheses that FAP will lead to changes in targets, specifically increases in caregiver accepting behaviors, youth and caregiver connection to Lakota culture, family bonding, and youth future orientation and decreases in caregiver rejecting behaviors, caregiver harsh parenting, and youth internalized homo/bi/transphobia compared to the control condition. We will also examine the hypotheses that there will be reductions in deleterious primary outcomes (depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, suicidality) and secondary outcomes (alcohol and drug use/initiation and dating and sexual violence victimization and perpetration) among youth in the treatment conditions compared to the control condition. Additionally, we will assess the acceptability and feasibility of the FAP via program observations, post-session surveys, and exit interviews.

Research shows that sexual and gender minority youth (SGMY) experience high rates of mental health problems and other challenges (e.g., social, academic). A major factor that leads to these challenges is family rejection (family behaviors and reactions that minimize, deny, ridicule and attempt to prevent or change a child's sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression). Racial and ethnic minority youth experience the highest rates of family rejection and related health risks. The Family Acceptance Project (FAP) is a research, education, and intervention initiative that was founded more than 20 years ago to help diverse families learn to support and affirm their SGMY. FAP's Family Support Model is grounded in the lived experiences of diverse SGMY and families and uses a culture-based family support framework that enables parents and caregivers to change rejecting behaviors that FAP's research has shown contribute to health risks and increase supportive and accepting behaviors that promote well-being for SGMY. The overall goal of this research project is to evaluate a nine-week online version of FAP's Family Support Model (FAP-O). The investigators will specifically study how FAP-O: 1. Promotes parent/caregiver acceptance and support of their sexual and gender minority youth. 2. Increases family bonding and communication. 3. Increases SGMYs' feelings of pride in being LGBTQ+ and more hopeful about the future. 4. Leads to reductions in mental health problems reported by SGMY who experience family rejection. Before receiving FAP-O's family support services, racial and ethnic minority SGMY (ages 14 to 25) and their caregivers will complete an initial pre-test survey. After completing this initial (baseline) survey, half of the families will participate in program sessions. Following the first round of sessions, all participants will complete an immediate follow-up survey, with an additional survey conducted six months after this. These surveys help us learn if FAP-O impacts the project's goals above. After the final survey, the other half of the families will attend program sessions. The investigators will also ask SGMY and caregivers to share what they liked about the program and their guidance for enhancing it.

Background. Children are vulnerable to mental health challenges during development. Given that youth are reliant on their parents for support, understanding the child's symptoms within the family context is critical for promoting positive change. This proposal focuses on "systemic therapy", or family-based therapy, which seeks to enhance children's mental health by improving the relationships and communication between family members (1). Most family-based therapies for treating child mental health problems are intense in duration and frequency (2), which is a barrier to access for many families. Shorter-term family therapies or what will be referred to hereafter as brief family-based therapies are effective in treating a variety of child symptoms, while also minimizing participant burden and therapy dropout (3). One type of brief family-based therapy model is the Lausanne Family Play - Brief (LFP-B), a three-session service that utilizes a play-based family observational assessment with video feedback to draw attention to and catalyze change in challenging family interactions. The LFP has been widely researched as a clinical assessment tool and has been implemented as a brief family-based therapy program (4). The current project represents the implementation and evaluation of the program in the York University Psychology Clinic (YUPC), which services children, adults, couples, and families in the Greater Toronto Area (and Ontario, broadly). The current study will be the first to evaluate the implementation, acceptability, and effectiveness of the LFP-B as a clinic service. Objectives. The aim of this project is to evaluate the LFP-B as a brief family-based clinical service offered in the YUPC. The first objective is to explore program acceptability for both clients and therapists. The investigators are interested in whether clients and therapists are satisfied with this clinical service and its processes. The second objective is to assess program effectiveness, specifically whether coparenting, family functioning, and child mental health problems improve across the course of the program and in the months following. Importance. Brief therapies with a systemic lens can increase cost-effectiveness, accessibility, and treatment retention. They also have potential to fill an apparent gap in service needs as up to three-quarters of youth with psychological concerns never receive treatment (5). Thus, brief services can provide more timely access to mental health care in Canada which have potential for reducing wait times, preventing further deterioration in mental health, and avoiding more intensive and expensive higher levels of care (e.g., acute inpatient mental health services; (6)). The LFP-B has potential to be widely used as a brief family-based therapy program with Canadian families to support child and family functioning in a timely and non-intensive manner.