IMPLEMENTATION OF FUN FRIENDS AND ADULT RESILIENCE PROGRAMS

Abstract

The present study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of translated versions of the Fun FRIENDS program for preschool children and the Adult Resilience program for parents in improving mental health and well-being among Urban mixed population and Balochi tribals in Balochistan, Pakistan. With increasing mental health challenges in underprivileged regions, interventions that promote resilience and coping skills are essential. A quasi experiment was conducted with 180 participants (N = 180), including preschool children (n = 60) and their parents (n = 120) from Urban mixed population and Balochi tribals. Participants were randomly assigned to either the intervention group, which received the Fun FRIENDS and/or Adult Resilience programs, or the control group. Pre- and post intervention assessments were carried out using standardized mental health measures, including the SCARED, CASI, SDQ, KSADS, PACHIQ-R, and FSSC-R for the children and DASS-21, Rosenberg Self-esteem scale, Connor Davidson Resilience scale, Wasik problem solving scale, PACHIQ-R, and Emotion Regulation questionnaire for the parents. The study used statistical tests such as ANOVA, ANCOVA, repeated measure ANOVA, and Linear Mixed Modeling (LMM) to determine if there were statistically significant differences in mental health outcomes between the intervention and control groups. The results found that both the Fun FRIENDS and Adult Resilience programs had a significant positive impact on mental health outcomes for both Urban mixed population and Balochi tribals. Children in the intervention group showed improvements based on SCARED (F = 191.94, p < .001), CASI (F = 67.34, p < .001), FSSC-R (F = 27.37, p < .001), SDQ (F = 5.53, p < .01), K-SADS (F = 101.65, p < .001), and PACHIQ-R (F = 32.70, p < .001) as compared to the control group. On the other hand, parents participating in intervention group showed improvements based on scores of DASS-21 (F = 370.37, p < .001), CDRS (F = 2054.95, p < .001), ERQ (F = 48.01, p < .001), RSES (F = 1207.20, p < .001), WPSS (F = 1410.21, p < .001), PACHIQ-R (F = 68.08, p < .001) as compared to control group. Additionally, comparisons between Urban mixed population and Balochi tribals showed that both groups benefited from the intervention, with the Balochi tribals experiencing greater improvements in mental health outcomes. Participant feedback surveys indicated that the majority found the skills learned in the programs to be useful for school and daily life. These evidence-based interventions offer promising strategies for improving mental health in underprivileged regions like Balochistan. However, further research and longitudinal studies are needed to explore the long-term effects and sustainability of these interventions in diverse populations. Implementing such programs on a broader scale can have significant implications for mental health promotion and well-being in disadvantaged communities.