The Effectiveness of Functional Family Therapy in Reducing Adolescent Mental Health Risk and Family Adjustment Difficulties in anIrish Context

Abstract

To evaluate the effectiveness of Functional Family Therapy (FFT) 42 cases were randomized to FFT and 55 to a waiting-list control group. Minimization procedures controlled the effects of potentially confounding baseline variables. Cases were treated by a team of five therapists who implemented FFT with a moderate degree of fidelity. Rates of clinical recovery were significantly higher in the FFT group than in the control group. Compared to the comparison group, parents in the FFT group reported significantly greater improvement in adolescent problems on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and both parents and adolescents reported improvements in family adjustment on the Systemic Clinical Outcomes and Routine Evaluation (SCORE). In addition, 93% of youth and families in the treatment condition completed FFT. Improvements shown immediately after treatment were sustained at 3-month follow-up. Results provide a current demonstration of FFT's effectiveness for youth with behavior problems in community-based settings, expand our understanding of the range of positive outcomes of FFT to include mental health risk and family-defined problem severity and impact, and suggests that it is an effective intervention when implemented in an Irish context.

An outcome evaluation of Functional Family Therapy for court‐involved youth

“…In another study, based at the same site, Hartnett et al . () found that improvements shown via SDQ were sustained at three‐month follow‐up.…”

The Score Family Assessment Questionnaire: A Decade of Progress

“…In addition to these validation studies, in two controlled trials, improvements occurred on the SCORE‐28 in the treatment group, but not in the control group (Cassells et al., ; Hartnett, Carr, & Sexton, ). In a study of the Polish SCORE‐15, this instrument was found not to be sensitive to therapeutic change over three sessions in the context in which it was evaluated.…”

The Implementation of Functional Family Therapy (FFT) as an Intervention for Youth Probationers in Singapore

“…Positive findings, in the form of reduced reoffending rates, have been reported in Norway (Thøgersen, ), and Sweden (Hansson, Cederblad, & Höök, ). Two studies in Ireland (Graham, Carr, Rooney, Sexton, & Wilson Satterfield, ; Hartnett, Carr, & Sexton, ) reported success in implementation, as well as significant, sustained reductions in youth behavioral problems. However, a recent RCT conducted in the United Kingdom did not find any differences in reoffending rates or self‐reported delinquency between youth who received FFT, relative to those in a comparison group (Humayun et al., ).…”