The program Strengthening Families was originally developed in the United States, for youth aged 10 to 14 years. The program has been adapted for use in 17 countries around the world, aimed at different subpopulations. In order to adapt the program to varying contexts changes had to be made to take account of language, narrators, realism, acceptability of program exercise and games, perceived religiosity, and ethnic representativeness. “The challenge is to adapt the material and format without compromising theoretical and conceptual integrity and therefore potential effectiveness” (Allen, Coombes, & Foxcroft, 2007). One way to help ensure appropriate adaptations is to use nominal or focus groups. When Strengthening Families was implemented in the United Kingdom both tactics were used in order to test program appropriateness of program material for the intended audience.

Allen, D., Coombes, L., Foxcroft, D. R. (2007). Cultural accommodation of the Strengthening Families Programme 10-14: UK phase 1 study. Health Education Research, Vol. 22(4), pp. 547-560.

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