RESULTS FROM LONGITUDINAL RESEARCH STUDIES TO INFORM THREE PREVENTIVE INTERVENTIONS

Data from longitudinal studies of the Family and Community Health Study (FACHS) have identified key processes in families that promote positive youth development, which, in turn, discourage engagement in risky behaviors. These research findings were translated into the design, development, and implementation of three randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that demonstrated efficacy and effectiveness in preventing the onset and escalation of substance use and risky sexual practices. These programs have also shown spillover effects on several other mental and neurological outcomes. This presentation will highlight findings from multiple analyses of the Strong African American Families (SAAF) program, the Pathways for African American Success (PAAS) program, and the PAAS Life Skills and Risk Reduction Brain Functioning Programs, showcasing their effectiveness in facilitating positive changes across a wide spectrum of behavioral and developmental outcomes beyond those specifically targeted by the interventions.

Dr. Velma McBride Murry holds the Lois Autrey Betts Endowed Chair. She previously served as Associate Provost for Research and Innovation and currently acts as Co-Director of The Vanderbilt Institute for Clinical and Translational Research, Community Engagement Research Core. McBride Murry is a University Distinguished Professor in the Departments of Health Policy at Vanderbilt School of Medicine and Human and Organizational Development at Peabody College. She is a Past President of the Society for Research on Adolescence and the current President of The International Consortium of Developmental Science Societies. In 2020, she was elected as one of the 100 members of the National Academy of Medicine.

She is an appointed standing member of the National Institutes of Health National Advisory Mental Health Research Council, a member of the National Academies Committee on Developing a Blueprint for a National Infrastructure to Prevent Behavioral Health Disorders, and a member of the National Academy of Medicine/Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Culture of Health Advisory Board.

Her research explores the significance of context in the everyday life experiences of African American families and youth, focusing on processes that heighten risk vulnerabilities and how adversities cascade through families, influencing parenting, family functioning, developmental outcomes, and youth adjustment during critical developmental periods, from middle childhood through young adulthood.