The impact of parenting education on parent and child behaviors: Moderators by income and ethnicity

2016  Journal Article

The impact of parenting education on parent and child behaviors: Moderators by income and ethnicity

Pub TLDR

Parenting practices and their impact on child development have been extensively studied, but historically, research has focused on homogeneous samples of middle-class, White families. However, there is a growing recognition of the need to understand these relationships among diverse families, including Latino families and low-income families.

 

College of Health researcher(s)

Highlights

  • The study focuses on the impact of evidence-based parenting education on perceived gains in parenting practices and child behaviors among Latino and White families, as well as low-income and higher-income families in the United States.
  • The researchers argue that understanding parents' perceptions of parenting education in these different groups is important for implementing and adapting parenting education curricula in a diverse population.
  • The study aims to fill the gap in knowledge regarding the effectiveness of generic evidence-based programs for underserved populations, such as Latino and low-income families.
  • The findings of the study provide empirical evidence supporting the family as an important context for children's development.

 

Abstract

Parenting education has emerged as a promising resource for supporting parents, but the relative impact of parenting education among families facing higher versus lower risk remains unclear. The present study explored the effects of participating in an evidence-based parenting education series and examined whether those effects were moderated by families' socio-demographic contexts (income level and ethnicity status). Results indicated that parenting education series serving predominantly lower-income parents resulted in greater improvements in parents' parenting skills and their children's behaviors compared to series serving higher-income parents. Attending a parenting series with a higher proportion of Latino parents also significantly predicted greater improvements in child behaviors, but not parent skills. These findings provide preliminary evidence that parenting education may be most effective when it targets underserved populations. The findings further highlight the importance of continuing to explore the influence of parenting education adapted for low-income and Latino families to inform the design of evidence-based programs.

Finders, J.K., Díaz, G., Geldhof, G.J., Sektnan, M., Rennekamp, D. (2016) The impact of parenting education on parent and child behaviors: Moderators by income and ethnicityChildren and Youth Services Review71