Social Networking Intervention to Promote Retention in Parenting Programs
Project Description:
Parent training programs provided in early childhood have proven to be effective in preventing the onset and escalation of child behavioral and mental health problems(1, 2). However, retention rates in parenting programs are low severely limiting the impact of efficacious programs at the population level(3). The NICHD has identified research that examines strategies to reach and retain hard-to-engage populations in evidence-based programs as a primary research objective(4). Further, little attention has focused on developing and evaluating technology-based strategies to overcome barriers to completion of preventive parenting programs, especially among hard-to-engage immigrant populations.The overall objective of this application is to better understand the factors that influence participation of Filipino parents and grandparents in the Incredible Years Parent Training Program (IY), one of the best-studied and most highly regarded evidence-based parenting programs(5).This population was chosen for four reasons: 1) Filipinos are the second-largest immigrant population in the U.S., yet are one of the least understood and researched groups related to health status and needs;(6-9) 2) Filipinos are exposed to multiple adversities, including harsh discipline, immigration stress, loss of social status, and lower self-esteem due to discrimination, placing young children at risk for future behavioral and mental health problems;(10-12) 3) U.S.-born Filipino youth exhibit higher rates of behavioral health problems and attain significantly lower levels of education than their Philippine-born counterparts and other U.S.-born Asian American youth;(13-20) and 4) Filipinos are especially unlikely to participate in mental health and preventive care interventions,(13, 21) making it critical to formulate methods to increase participation in this population.The specific aims are 1) Investigate the barriers and facilitators that affect participation in an evidence-based preventive parenting program among Filipino parents and grandparents of children ages 6-12 years old. 2) To design a social media-based intervention to increase attendance (number of sessions) among Filipino parents in an evidence-based preventive parenting program. We will conduct meetings with an established community-advisory board to discuss findings from Aim 1 and develop a culturally-relevant social networking intervention.Data will be obtained using surveys with self-report instruments and transcripts from individual interviews. It is hypothesized that parents who dropped out of an evidence-based parenting intervention will report logistic and attitudinal barriers to completing the programThis study is expected to have an important impact on the uptake of evidence-based parenting interventions among hard-to-reach populations and holds the promise of eliminating disparities in behavioral health outcomes in this understudied and growing minority population.
Keyword(s):
social media, mental health, filipino
Core Function(s):
Performing Research or Evaluation
Area of Emphasis
Education & Early Intervention, Other - Cultural Diversity
Target Audience:
General Public
Unserved or Under-served Populations:
Racial or Ethnic Minorities
Primary Target Audience Geographic Descriptor:
Single-County
COVID-19 Related Data:
N/A
