Research points to the protective functions of close parental bonding, healthy parent-child communication, and effective family functioning in reducing risks for a range of child and youth mental health problems.100 Several studies have demonstrated the important role of parental involvement, warmth, connection, listening and support in reducing risks for adolescent suicidal behaviour.101 Such findings also suggest that parent education and family support programs, which are designed to improve parents’ overall problem solving, communication and conflict resolution skills, and improve family relationships and strengthen bonds, can make an important contribution in the overall youth suicide prevention effort. Social support for parents, in itself may, be an important factor in promoting parental effectiveness.
In a review of effective positive youth development programs, 60 per cent of the effective programs used family or parent strategies, combined with other school or community based strategies, to promote positive youth development.102 Parent strategies included direct parent training or education strategies, many of which were implemented at the school, as well as home based strategies designed to enhance the youth's acquisition of new skills and learning. Many of the effective programs combined school based and family focused strategies, e.g. while students are learning new skills at school, parents are frequently the target of efforts designed to promote family competence and enhance parent self-effectiveness.
Several family-level protective factors have been found to positively influence adolescent health and well-being including: positive parent-child relationships, positive discipline methods, close supervision, and communication of prosocial values and expectations. 103
Core principles of effective family-focused preventive interventions have been distilled from the existing research and they are summarized below:104