Karol L. Kumpfer, PhD

Karol L. Kumpfer, Ph.D., is an American Indian psychologist (Pawnee) and a Professor of Health Promotion and Education at the University of Utah, who specializes in cross-cultural research and dissemination of evidence-based family strengthening interventions to prevent substance abuse, delinquency, child maltreatment, and improve child outcomes. She is the original developer of the Strengthening Families Program (SFP), http://www.strengtheningfamiliesprogram.org which is a 7- to 14-session family skills training program proven in multiple RCTs with independent researchers to improve parenting skills, family relations, and improve children’s outcomes. From 1997 to 2000, she served as the Director of the DHHS/SAMHSA Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) in Washington, D.C. for which she was honored with a White House Distinguished Service Award. For 15 years, she also directed OJJDP’s Strengthening America’s Families Initiative to locate and disseminate evidence-based family interventions nationwide. Currently she is a United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) consultant and has conducted a global search on evidence-based parenting and family interventions for dissemination to developing countries on their website. She was awarded in June 2008 the prestigious Community and Cultural Research award by the Society for Prevention Research and was also the first woman president in 1998. In 2010, the University of Utah awarded her their Diversity Award. She has published and presented widely and internationally. She is a Board Member of the Indian Walk-in Center. She and her husband, Dr. Henry Whiteside, enjoy outdoor activities such as hiking, rafting, skiing, and traveling. They live in Emigration canyon in a home Karol design, being thwarted in her first academic goal to become an architect. She did serve as the UU Long-range Planner in the Park Building. Currently she serves as the Director of International Education for her department.

Research Statement

My research has focused on substance abuse, delinquency,and child maltreatment prevention using family strengthening approaches, such as my Strengthening Families Program. Over 15 NIDA/NIAAA/SAMHSA RCTs with up to 10 year followup studies by independent research teams has resulted in this parenting and family skills training program being considered the most effective alcohol and drug prevention program by the Cochrane Collaboration Reviews at Oxford University, WHO, and UNODC. Because of the high cost of family group therapy or skills training of about $1,000 per family for 14 2 hour sessions, we have partnered with MADD to develop a Home Use DVD that is sold at cost for $5. Recently researchers at U Georgia tested an Aftican American version of SFP, and found it cut rates of alcohol, drug, depression, delinquency and HIV risks by about 50% in genetically at-risk youth wtih short alleles of the 5-HTTLPR gene. Hence SFP is the first parenting program to suggest that like the mouse studies in epigenetics, nurturing parenting can reduce genetic expression of health conditions.

I am also submitting grants to add a physical activity and nutrition component to SFP to reduce obesity in children and improve health outcomes.

Selected Publications