Often when interventions are designed, little consideration is given to how the intervention might work for people of diverse backgrounds. However, a recent study has shown that the same parenting education program can be effective for parents of different ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds.
Researchers compared two separate but related studies of a parent education program based on Re-evaluation Counseling (RC). Specifically, they tried to determine whether the program was easily implemented and effective, whether the effects lasted, and whether the program was useful for populations. The first study involved 25 middle income, married mothers with at least one child younger than five years old. The second study involved 18 black mothers with children enrolled in Head Start. In both studies, mothers were assigned by chance to the parenting education group or to a comparison group. The researchers measured parental attitudes, parenting stress, and parenting practices before and after the parenting education intervention.
For both the middle-income white and low-income black mothers, the parenting education program:
Researchers compared two separate but related studies of a parent education program based on Re-evaluation Counseling (RC). Specifically, they tried to determine whether the program was easily implemented and effective, whether the effects lasted, and whether the program was useful for populations. The first study involved 25 middle income, married mothers with at least one child younger than five years old. The second study involved 18 black mothers with children enrolled in Head Start. In both studies, mothers were assigned by chance to the parenting education group or to a comparison group. The researchers measured parental attitudes, parenting stress, and parenting practices before and after the parenting education intervention.
For both the middle-income white and low-income black mothers, the parenting education program:
- Reduced parenting-related stress.
- Improved parental attitudes.
- Encouraged authoritative parenting practices.
Debate continues over whether parent education programs need to be tailored for the individual needs of diverse populations. This study shows that even without addressing such factors directly, parent education can be effective with diverse families. However, the authors do not suggest that incorporating diversity issues should be left out or ignored. In fact, attention to issues of diversity may strengthen the effectiveness, decrease drop-out rates, increase accessibility, and help strengthen community bonds.
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