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The Feasibility, Acceptability, and Utility of Mantente REAL: the Culturally Adapted Version of keepin’ it REAL for Mexico

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Abstract

A binational team of investigators culturally adapted, implemented, and tested the efficacy in Mexico of keepin’ it REAL, a US-designed prevention intervention for youth. This article reports on the social validity of the adapted intervention by assessing its feasibility, acceptability, and utility, as perceived by participating middle school students, teachers/implementers, and school administrators. Middle schools (N = 36) were randomly assigned to (1) the culturally adapted version for Mexico (Mantente REAL), (2) the original intervention from the USA (keepin’ it REAL) translated into Spanish, or (3) a control condition (treatment as usual). Adult and child feedback about the adapted and original versions of the intervention indicate that both are feasible to implement in the Mexican context. Implementation fidelity was equally high for both versions of the manualized intervention. Students, however, were more satisfied with the culturally adapted version than with the non-adapted version. They reported gaining more knowledge, finding it more acceptable, applicable, and authentic, and they reported discussing the program with their family and friends more often. The findings support the feasibility of engaging classroom teachers to implement manualized prevention programs in Mexico. These findings also advance prevention science by documenting the importance of cultural adaptation as a means to increase students’ identification with and acceptability of efficacious school-based interventions. The article discusses the practice, policy, and future prevention research implications of the findings for Mexico and their potential generalizability to other middle- and lower-income countries.

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Funding

This study was funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), award R01DA038657, Flavio F. Marsiglia, PI.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Global Center for Applied Health Research, Arizona State University, 411 N. Central Avenue, Suite 720, Phoenix, AZ, 85004-0693, USA

    Flavio F. Marsiglia, Stephen S. Kulis, Kyle Gresenz & Dania Alcala-Calvillo

  2. School of Social Work, Arizona State University, 411 N. Central Avenue, Suite 800, Phoenix, AZ, 85004, USA

    Flavio F. Marsiglia

  3. School of Social and Family Dynamics, Arizona State University, P.O. Box 873701, Tempe, AZ, 85287, USA

    Stephen S. Kulis & Kyle Gresenz

  4. Departamento de Psicoloxía Clínica E Psicobioloxía, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Rúa Xosé María Suárez Núñez, s/n. Campus Vida, 15782, Santiago de Compostela, A Coruña, Spain

    Olalla Cutrín

  5. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito Interior Ciudad Universitaria, Coyoacán, Mexico City, México

    Maria Elena Medina-Mora & Miguel Ángel Mendoza-Meléndez

  6. Instituto Nacional de Psiquiatría Ramón de Fuente Muñiz, Calzada México Xochimilco 101. C.P. 14370, Mexico City, México

    Tania Real

  7. Centro de Estudios e Investigaciones en Comportamiento, Universidad de Guadalajara, Francisco de Quevedo, 180 Col. Arcos Vallarta CP 44130, Guadalajara, México

    Bertha L. Nuño-Gutiérrez

  8. Departamento de Enfermerías, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, San Nicolás de la Garza, México

    Maria Dolores Corona

  9. Program On Science, Technology and Society, CINVESTAV-IPN, Av. Instituto Politécnico Nacional 2508, Col. San Pedro Zacatenco, Delegación Gustavo A. Madero, Mexico D.F. Código Postal, 07360, Mexico

    Miguel Ángel Mendoza-Meléndez

  10. Arizona State University, 411 N. Central Avenue, Suite 720, Phoenix, AZ, 85004-0693, USA

    Flavio F. Marsiglia

Authors
  1. Flavio F. Marsiglia
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  2. Stephen S. Kulis
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  3. Olalla Cutrín
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  4. Maria Elena Medina-Mora
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  5. Tania Real
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  6. Bertha L. Nuño-Gutiérrez
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  7. Maria Dolores Corona
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  8. Miguel Ángel Mendoza-Meléndez
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  9. Kyle Gresenz
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  10. Dania Alcala-Calvillo
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Flavio F. Marsiglia.

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All the procedures in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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All individual participants in the study provided informed consent.

Registration Information

Full protocol can be accessed through Clinical Trials.gov. ID: NCT03233386, “Keepin’ It REAL in Mexico: An adaptation and multisite RCT.”

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Marsiglia, F.F., Kulis, S.S., Cutrín, O. et al. The Feasibility, Acceptability, and Utility of Mantente REAL: the Culturally Adapted Version of keepin’ it REAL for Mexico. Prev Sci 23, 1483–1494 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-022-01409-w

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