The piloting of a culturally centered American Indian family prevention program: a CBPR partnership between Mescalero Apache and the University of New Mexico

The Mescalero Apache Family Listening Program (MAFLP) is a culturally centered family prevention program with third, fourth, and fifth graders; a parent/caregiver; and a family elder. The program follows a positive youth development model to develop stronger communication and shared cultural practices between elders, parents, and youth in the tribe to reduce substance initiation of use among the youth. The MAFLP was created using a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach in partnership with the University of New Mexico. The research focus of MAFLP is centered on the adaptation of a family curriculum from a Navajo and Pueblo version of the Family Listening Program to an Apache version, the establishment of a (Apache) Tribal Research Team, and the piloting of the curriculum with Apache families. MAFLP was piloted twice, and evaluation measures were collected focused on formative and impact evaluation. This article provides a background on Mescalero Apache then introduces the Navajo and Pueblo version of a Family Listening and Family Circle Program, respectively, next, the CBPR research partnership between Mescalero Apache and the University of New Mexico and the creation of a Mescalero Apache Tribal Research Team followed by the development and adaptation of a Mescalero Apache Family Listening Program including implementation and evaluation, and concluding with preliminary findings.