title: The process of adapting a universal dating abuse prevention program to adolescents exposed to domestic violence.
abstract: Adolescents exposed to domestic violence are at increased risk of dating abuse, yet no evaluated dating abuse prevention programs have been designed specifically for this high-risk population. This article describes the process of adapting Families for Safe Dates (FSD), an evidenced-based universal dating abuse prevention program, to this high-risk population, including conducting 12 focus groups and 107 interviews with the target audience. FSD includes six booklets of dating abuse prevention information, and activities for parents and adolescents to do together at home. We adapted FSD for mothers who were victims of domestic violence, but who no longer lived with the abuser, to do with their adolescents who had been exposed to the violence. Through the adaptation process, we learned that families liked the program structure and valued being offered the program and that some of our initial assumptions about this population were incorrect. We identified practices and beliefs of mother victims and attributes of these adolescents that might increase their risk of dating abuse that we had not previously considered. In addition, we learned that some of the content of the original program generated negative family interactions for some. The findings demonstrate the utility of using a careful process to adapt evidence-based interventions (EBIs) to cultural sub-groups, particularly the importance of obtaining feedback on the program from the target audience. Others can follow this process to adapt EBIs to groups other than the ones for which the original EBI was designed.
authors.affiliation: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA Foshee@email.unc.edu.
authors.forename: Vangie A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Foshee
authors.affiliation: International Rescue Committee, New York City, USA.
authors.forename: Kimberly S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Dixon
authors.affiliation: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA.
authors.forename: Susan T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Ennett
authors.affiliation: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA.
authors.forename: Kathryn E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Moracco
authors.affiliation: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA.
authors.forename: J Michael
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Bowling
authors.affiliation: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA.
authors.forename: Ling-Yin
authors.initials: LY
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA.
authors.forename: Jennifer L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Moss
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D000328:Adult; D003380:Courtship / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D000066511:Intimate Partner Violence / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010290:Parents / Q000193:education*; D000297:Psychology, Adolescent; D012307:Risk Factors
keywords: dating abuse prevention; exposure to domestic violence; program adaptation