A Prospective Sequential Analysis of the Relation Between Physical Aggression and Peer Rejection Acts in a High-Risk Preschool Sample

Research Findings: Early Head Start home-based programs provide services through weekly home visits to families with children up to age 3, but families vary in how long they remain enrolled. In this study of 564 families in home-based Early Head Start programs, “dropping out” was predicted by specific variations in home visits and certain family characteristics. It also was negatively related to several targeted program outcomes. Home visits to dropout families focused less on child development, were less successful at engaging parents, and had more distractions. Dropout families had more risks and changes of residence, were more likely to be headed by a single mother, and were less likely to have a mother with poor English skills or a child with a documented disability. Practice or Policy: Home visiting programs may be able to reduce dropout rates, and thereby increase the duration of services to each family, by keeping home visits engaging and focused on child development and also by individualizing to the specific needs of families at risk for dropping out. To keep families involved longer, home visiting programs should consider (a) planning home visits that are longer, more engaging for both parent and child, scheduled at a time when there are fewer distractions for the family; and (b) spending the majority of time on child development activities and topics.     

Randomized trial of a statewide home visiting program to prevent child abuse: impact in reducing parental risk factors

OBJECTIVES: To assess the impact of a home visiting program in reducing malleable parental risk factors for child abuse in families of newborns identified, through population-based screening, as at-risk of child abuse. METHODS: This randomized trial focused on Healthy Start Program (HSP) sites operated by three community-based organizations on Oahu, HI, USA. From 11/94 to 12/95, 643 families were enrolled and randomly assigned to intervention and control groups. Mothers in both groups were interviewed annually for 3 years (88% follow-up each year) to measure mental health, substance use, and partner violence. HSP records were reviewed to measure home visiting services provided. Home visitors were surveyed annually to measure their perceived competence. RESULTS: Malleable parental risks for child abuse were common at baseline. There was no significant overall program effect on any risk or on at-risk mothers' desire for and use of community services to address risks. There was a significant reduction in one measure of poor mental health at one agency and a significant reduction in maternal problem alcohol use and repeated incidents of physical partner violence for families receiving > or =75% of visits called for in the model. Home visitors often failed to recognize parental risks and seldom linked families with community resources. HSP training programs were under-developed in preparing staff to address risks and to link families with community resources. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, the home visiting program did not reduce major risk factors for child abuse that made families eligible for service. Research is needed to develop and test strategies to improve home visiting effectiveness in reducing parental risks for child abuse.     

Child-made home learning games for V.I.P.'s (very involved parents)

The key to this article is that all of the home learning games are made by the children for their own use with their parents. Anything the child has made becomes a source of pride for both parent and child. This pride is the simplest motivator for parent-child interaction. The child wants the parent to play his or her game and the parent will naturally devote some attention to the hand-made product.Gail L. Summer is the author of the book,Child-Made Home Learning Games for V.I.P's, from which this article is excerpted. It is available from Summertime Productions, 3005-E. Overton Drive, Greensboro, NC 27408 for $7.00 plus $1.00 shipping.     

Impact of a statewide home visiting program to prevent child abuse

OBJECTIVES: To assess the impact of a voluntary, paraprofessional home visiting program in preventing child maltreatment and reducing the multiple, malleable psychosocial risks for maltreatment for which families had been targeted. METHODS: This collaborative, experimental study focused on 6 Healthy Families Alaska (HFAK) programs; 325 families were enrolled in 2000-2001, randomized to intervention and control groups, and interviewed to measure baseline attributes. Follow-up data were collected when children were 2 years old (85% follow-up rate). Outcomes included maltreatment reports, measures of potential maltreatment and parental risks, for example, poor mental health, substance use, and partner violence. HFAK records were reviewed to measure home visiting services. Home visitors were surveyed to measure perceived effectiveness and training adequacy. RESULTS: Parental risks were common at baseline, and one-sixth of families had a substantiated child protective services report in the child's first 2 years of life. There was no overall program effect on maltreatment reports, and most measures of potential maltreatment. Home visited mothers reported using mild forms of physical discipline less often than control mothers. The groups were similar in their use of more severe forms of physical discipline. There was no program impact on parental risks. There was no impact on outcomes for families with a 'high dose' of home visiting. Home visitors often failed to address parental risks and seldom linked families with community resources. Contradictions in the model compromised effectiveness. CONCLUSIONS: The program did not prevent child maltreatment, nor reduce the parental risks that had made families eligible for service. Research is needed to develop and test strategies to improve the effectiveness of home visiting.     

Impact of a statewide home visiting program on parenting and on child health and development

OBJECTIVES: To assess the impact of a voluntary, paraprofessional home visiting program on promoting child health and development and maternal parenting knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. METHODS: This collaborative, experimental study of 6 Healthy Families Alaska (HFAK) programs enrolled 325 families from 1/00 to 7/01, randomly assigned them to HFAK and control groups, interviewed mothers at baseline, and followed families until children were 2 years old (85% follow-up). Child outcomes included health care use, development and behavior. Parent outcomes included knowledge of infant development, parenting attitudes, quality of the home environment, and parent-child interaction. HFAK records were reviewed to measure home visiting services. Home visitors were surveyed to measure knowledge, perceived effectiveness and perceived training adequacy. RESULTS: There was no overall impact on child health, but HFAK group children had more favorable developmental and behavioral outcomes. HFAK and control mothers had similar parenting outcomes except that HFAK mothers had greater parenting self-efficacy (35.1 vs. 34.6 based on the Teti Self-Efficacy Scale, p<.05). Fewer HFAK families had a poor home environment for learning (20% vs. 31%, p<.001). HFAK families were more likely to use center-based parenting services (48% vs. 39%, p<.05). The impact was greater for families with lower baseline risk (Family Stress Checklist scores<45). There was little evidence of efficacy for families with a higher dose of service. CONCLUSIONS: The program promoted child development and reduced problem behaviors at 2 years. Impact could be strengthened by improving home visitor effectiveness in promoting effective parenting. Future research is needed to determine whether short-term benefits are sustained.     

Is home visiting an effective strategy? A meta-analytic review of home visiting programs for families with young children

Home visiting programs for families with young children have been in effect for many years; however, this is the first comprehensive meta-analytic effort to quantify the usefulness of home visits as a strategy for helping families across a range of outcomes. Sixty home visiting programs contributed data to analysis within 5 child and 5 parent outcome groups. Standardized effect sizes were computed for each end-of-treatment outcome measure, for each treatment versus control contrast. Weighted mean standardized effect sizes ranged from -.043 to.318; 6 of the 10 significantly differed from 0. No one program characteristic consistently affected effect sizes across outcome groups. The extent to which these findings have practical use for the field is discussed.     

Parental experiences of the “Time Together” home visiting intervention: an Attachment Theory perspective

This paper reports the results of research into parental experiences of the Somerset (UK) “Time Together” home visiting intervention, with regards to its impact on the parent-child relationship. The research was carried out using an Attachment Theory lens in order to understand the qualitative experiences of seven parents of children in the early years who were identified as being socially isolated and/or having difficulties relating to their child. The key findings were that parents experienced a change within their notion of self, seeing their child as a separate self and seeing the world more through their child’s eyes. They experienced a wider range of play activities which brought about greater levels of attunement and enjoyment. The parent and home visitor relationship served to empower parents. A flow diagram was created to illustrate the processes of the research interactions and outcomes. This provides a model of how parents can be supported to experience greater enjoyment within their relationship with their child, and increase their level of social engagement.     

Family risk as a predictor of initial engagement and follow-through in a universal nurse home visiting program to prevent child maltreatment

Objective

As nurse home visiting to prevent child maltreatment grows in popularity with both program administrators and legislators, it is important to understand engagement in such programs in order to improve their community-wide effects. This report examines family demographic and infant health risk factors that predict engagement and follow-through in a universal home-based maltreatment prevention program for new mothers in Durham County, North Carolina.

Methods

Trained staff members attempted to schedule home visits for all new mothers during the birthing hospital stay, and then nurses completed scheduled visits three to five weeks later. Medical record data was used to identify family demographic and infant health risk factors for maltreatment. These variables were used to predict program engagement (scheduling a visit) and follow-through (completing a scheduled visit).

Results

Program staff members were successful in scheduling 78% of eligible families for a visit and completing 85% of scheduled visits. Overall, 66% of eligible families completed at least one visit. Structural equation modeling (SEM) analyses indicated that high demographic risk and low infant health risk were predictive of scheduling a visit. Both low demographic and infant health risk were predictive of visit completion.

Conclusions

Findings suggest that while higher demographic risk increases families’ initial engagement, it might also inhibit their follow-through. Additionally, parents of medically at-risk infants may be particularly difficult to engage in universal home visiting interventions. Implications for recruitment strategies of home visiting programs are discussed.     

Who Is Watching and Who Is Playing: Parental Engagement with Children at a Hands-On Science Center

ABSTRACT

Family interactions are common phenomenon at visits to science centers and natural history museums. Through interactions the family can support each other as the members individually and collectively learn from their visits. Interaction is particularly important between child(ren) and parent, which may be facilitated by media provided to parents. The author's research focused on the value added of print resources or video resources designed to support parent interactions with their child(ren) during a visit to a science center. What the author found was a variety of need and expectations for the support media that limited the usefulness of what was provided to the visitors. During the research the author also observed some variations in how parents interacted with their child(ren) based on the configurations of the families. Implications and suggestions for future research are provided.     

Inside home visits: response from the Early Head Start program director

Our Early Head Start program has benefited from collaborating with researchers. By working with the researchers, our program has clarified our theory of change, reflected on strategies that work, and trained staff on what should be happening during a home visit. We have identified skills staff can use to get parents interacting with their children in positive ways during home visits. By using information about the quality of our home visits, our program now provides better services to our children and families.     

Parent involvement: perceptions of recent immigrant parents in a suburban school district,Minnesota

The study aimed to examine the perceptions of immigrant parents regarding their school’s efforts to encourage three types of parent involvement: Parenting, Communicating, and Learning at Home. The sample includes 106 immigrant parents with children who were enrolled in English Language Learners programmes at 10 schools in a suburban school district in Minnesota, USA. The results showed that depending on their ethnicities, the children’s school levels and the father’s educational level, the perceptions of the parents were significantly different in terms of the “Parenting” and “Learning at Home” involvement types. Mother’s educational level was significantly correlated to the languages used at home and to their children’s academic achievement in English. Results indicated that schools should consider ethnic backgrounds and educational levels of parents, and languages used at home to instil as collaborations between immigrant parents and schools.     

Marriage and the Parenting Partnership: Perceptions and Interactions of Parents with Mentally Retarded and Typically Developing Children

The quality of the parents' marital bond and their ability to work together in the parenting role were examined for the parents of school-aged children (ages 6-18) with mild and moderate mental retardation (n = 38) and a comparable group of parents of typically developing children (n = 34). Significantly more negative functioning for the parents of mentally retarded children was observed during marital interactions, and parent-child interactions but was not reflected in their self-reports of marriage and parenting, suggesting that expectations about marital and parenting strains may modulate negative sentiments for these parents. Across both groups, marital quality and the parenting partnership, together with child behavior problems, accounted for 23% to 53% of the variance in parenting confidence and in aversive parent-child exchanges. Negative marital interaction was a particularly important predictor of aversive parent-child exchanges.     

Involvement in Early Head Start home visiting services: Demographic predictors and relations to child and parent outcomes

One strand of home visiting research investigates efficacy while another investigates under what conditions programs achieve outcomes. The current study follows the latter approach. Using a within-program design in a sample of 11 home-based sites in the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation study, this study found that three components of home visits (quantity of involvement including number of home visits, duration in the program, length of visits and intensity of service; quality of engagement including global ratings of engagement by staff and ratings of engagement during each home visit; and the extent to which home visits were child focused) represented distinguishable aspects of home visit services. Demographic variables predicted components of involvement, and home visit involvement components were differentially related to outcomes at 36 months, after controlling for demographic/family factors and earlier functioning on the same measure. Only one quantity of involvement variable (duration) predicted improvements in home language and literacy environments at 36 months. Quality of involvement variables were negative predictors of maternal depressive symptoms at 36 months. Finally, the proportion of time during the visit devoted to child-focused activities predicted children's cognitive and language development scores, parent HOME scores, and parental support for language and learning when children were 36 months of age. Implications for home visiting programs and policies are discussed.     

Selective Parent Participation: Structural and Cultural Factors that Influence School Participation Among Korean Parents

This study examines the process of parent participation for a group of Korean parents in a Korean English two-way immersion program who were labeled “uncooperative.” It adopts Ogbu's cultural ecological theory as the theoretical framework for examining the phenomenon and thus it examines both the environmental as well as the cultural forces that underlie the parents' patterns of participation. Over the course of an academic semester, eight parents and three staff members were interviewed and observed during PTA meetings and other parent involvement events. Findings indicate that the Korean parents practiced “selective participation.” Findings also point to the importance of acknowledging institutional barriers and cultural differences in parents' school participation patterns.     

Volunteers as teachers of child management to parents of behaviour‐disordered preschoolers

Ten women volunteers were trained as teachers of child management skills to parents of behaviour‐disordered preschoolers. Families were selected from referrals to a child psychiatric clinic, and included 42 children. Initial assessment of families was undertaken by a psychologist, and specific goals for treatment were set with parents. Volunteers trained in a social learning approach to child management visited the families in their homes to implement and supervise programs aimed at parent and child behaviour change. After 6‐8 weeks families were reassessed at the clinic. Evaluation of the project's outcomes using a consumer satisfaction survey, parent ratings on a problem behaviour checklist, and staff ratings of goal attainment, showed major changes in child behaviour which were maintained at three‐month follow‐up.     

Paraprofessional home visitors’ perspectives on addressing poor mental health,substance abuse,and domestic violence: A qualitative study

This research was conducted to understand paraprofessional home visitors’ perceptions of their training in addressing poor mental health, substance abuse, and domestic violence, and their actions in working with families in addressing these issues. Five focus groups were conducted with a total of 28 paraprofessional home visitors. Three main themes emerged from qualitative analysis. Home visitors experienced tension between addressing families’ more pressing needs such as housing or utilities and addressing poor mental health, substance abuse, and domestic violence. Home visitors felt that they received extensive training in these risk areas, but that this training focused heavily on knowledge acquisition rather than skill development. Home visitors also desired more guidance in addressing families’ poor mental health, substance abuse, and domestic violence concerns—namely, more clarity on the extent to which they should address these issues during visits and more and varied supervision. Home visitors need more training on how to initiate conversations about mental health, substance abuse, and domestic violence, including how to transition conversations from other client needs. Home visiting programs must clarify home visitors’ roles in addressing clients’ poor mental health, substance abuse, and domestic violence and provide additional and varied supervision to home visitors.     

The Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters Program's Relationship with Mother and School Outcomes

Research Findings: This study investigated the relationship of the Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) program to mothers' involvement in education at home and school, student school readiness in kindergarten, and student academic outcomes at 3rd grade. HIPPY serves a mostly minority, low-income family population and employs home visitors that are mostly female and Spanish speaking. Using a within-group analysis, we found that HIPPY mothers increased educational activities in their home with their children after 1 year of home-based intervention. The majority (84.8%) of HIPPY kindergartners were rated as “ready for school” by their kindergarten teachers according to a within-group analysis. In addition, between-group analyses showed that HIPPY kindergartners had higher attendance rates, higher prekindergarten enrollment, and higher promotion to 1st grade compared to other kindergartners in the school district. HIPPY 3rd graders scored significantly higher on a state-mandated math achievement test than their matched peers. Practice or Policy: The results suggest that HIPPY had a positive relationship with families and schools through improved parent involvement and student school outcomes.     

A treatment and education program for parents and children who are at-risk of abuse and neglect

A treatment program for families at-risk of abusive or neglectful parenting was described and evaluated. The program combined intervention strategies and concepts based on research on abuse, early intervention, education and social service. Treatment and education for the parent and child were provided in the three services of the program: Home-Based, Family School, and Neighborhood Peer Support Groups. At-risk families were identified by a high-risk stress index. Program evaluation was based on 46 families and their 74 preschool-age children. Data collected were: incidence of child abuse or neglect, family stresses, observations of parent-child interactions, family goal measurement, and developmental testing of the children. A significant reduction occurred in the number of children abused or neglected as compared to a similar high-risk, nonintervention sample. The family stresses were reduced, parent-child interactions improved, and the intellectual decline of the children was prevented. Families who participated in all three services gained the most from the program.