Abstract
We evaluated the effectiveness of the Parenting Wisely (PW) program 6 months post intervention and assessed differences based on delivery format. Using a quasi-experimental design, parents (N = 311) participated in the PW program in one of five formats (i.e., parents-only intensive workshop, parents-only 5-week group, parents and adolescents 5-week group, parent and adolescent online, and parent-only online format). An additional 53 parents served as a comparison group. We used the McMaster Family Assessment Device, the Child Behavior Checklist, and the Violent Behavior Checklist to measure family functioning, parenting, and adolescent behavior. Relative to the comparison group, at 6 month follow-up parents who participated in PW reported increases in confidence in their parenting skills, decreases in conflicts with their adolescents, and decreases in adolescent externalizing and violent behavior. Mechanisms of change analyses supported the conceptual model that program effects were related to child behavior changes by influencing positive parenting and decreasing negative family dynamics. PW effectiveness did not vary substantially by delivery format, except for the intensive workshop format, which was less effective than other formats. These findings extend research on PW to include evidence of sustained program effects on adolescent externalizing and violent behaviors in an ethnically diverse, socioeconomically disadvantaged sample. Study findings are relevant to agencies and clinicians who are seeking to implement an evidence-based, flexible parent-training program.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
Familism refers to strong attachment and identification within the family unit (see Sabogal et al., 1987).
References
Achenbach, T. M., & Rescorla, L. A. (2001). Manual for ASEBA school-age forms and profiles. Burlington: Research Center for Children, Youth, and Families, University of Vermont.
Angrist, J. D., & Pischke, J.-S. (2009). Mostly harmless econometrics: An empiricist’s companion. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Briesmeister, J. M., & Schaefer, C. E. (1998). Handbook of parent training: Parents as co-therapists for children’s behavior problems (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Wiley.
Castro, F. G., Barrera, M., & Martinez, C. R. (2004). The cultural adaptation of prevention interventions: Resolving tensions between fidelity and fit. Prevention Science, 5, 41–45.
Cefai, J., Smith, D., & Pushak, R. E. (2010). Parenting Wisely: Parent training via CD-ROM with an Australian sample. Child & Family Behavior Therapy, 32, 17–33. https://doi.org/10.1080/07317100903539709.
Cotter, K. L., Bacallao, M., Smokowski, P. R., & Robertson, C. I. B. (2013). Parenting interventions implementation science: How delivery format impacts the parenting wisely program. Research on Social Work Practice, 23, 639–650. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049731513490811.
Dahlberg, L. L., Toal, S. B., Swahn, M., & Behrens, C. B. (2005). Measuring violence-related attitudes, behaviors, and influences among youths: A compendium of assessment tools (2nd ed.). Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.
Epstein, N. B., Baldwin, L. M., & Bishop, D. S. (1983). The McMaster family assessment device. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 9, 171–180. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-0606.1983.tb01497.x.
Fagan, A. A., & Catalano, R. F. (2012). What works in youth violence prevention: A review of the literature. Research on Social Work Practice, 23, 141–156. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049731512465899.
Gibaud-Wallston, J., & Wandersman, L. P. (1978). Development and utility of the parenting sense of competence scale. Paper presented at the meeting of the American Psychological Association, Toronto, Canada.
Gil, A. G., Wagner, E. F., & Vega, W. A. (2000). Acculturation, familism and alcohol use among Latino adolescent males: Longitudinal relations. Journal of Community Psychology, 28, 443–458. https://doi.org/10.1002/1520-6629(200007)28:4<443:AID-JCOP6>3.0.CO;2-A.
Gordon, D. A. (2000). Parent training via CD-ROM: Using technology to disseminate effective prevention practices. Journal of Primary Prevention, 21, 227–251. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007035320118.
Gordon, D. A. (2011). Parenting Wisely evaluation tools. Unpublished manuscript. Retrieved from http://www.familyworksinc.com/.
Gordon, D. A., & Stanar, C. R. (2003). Lessons learned from the dissemination of Parenting Wisely, a parent training CD-ROM. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 10, 312–323. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1077-7229(03)80049-4.
Gordon, R. S. (1983). An operational classification of disease prevention. Public Health Reports, 98, 107–109.
Graham, J. W. (2009). Missing data analysis: Making it work in the real world. Annual Review of Psychology, 60, 549–576. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.58.110405.085530.
Johnston, C., & Mash, E. J. (1989). A measure of parenting satisfaction and efficacy. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 18, 167–175. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15374424jccp1802_8.
Kacir, C. D., & Gordon, D. A. (1999). Parenting adolescents wisely: The effectiveness of an interactive videodisk parent training program in Appalachia. Child & Family Behavior Therapy, 21, 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1300/J019v21n04_01.
Kaminska, J. W., Valle, L. A., Filene, J. H., & Boyle, C. L. (2008). A meta-analytic review of components associated with parent training program effectiveness. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 36, 567–589. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-007-9201-9.
Kazdin, A. E. (2007). Mediators and mechanisms of change in psychotherapy research. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 3, 1–27.
Kumpfer, K. L., & Alvarado, R. (2003). Family-strengthening approaches for the prevention of youth problem behaviors. American Psychologist, 58, 457–465. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.58.6-7.457.
Lundahl, B., Risser, H. J., & Lovejoy, M. C. (2006). A meta-analysis of parent training: Moderators and follow-up effects. Clinical Psychology Review, 26, 86–104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2005.07.004.
Nadel, H., Spellmann, M., Alvarez-Canino, T., Lausell-Bryant, L., & Landsberg, G. (1996). The cycle of violence and victimization: A study of the school-based intervention of a multidisciplinary youth violence-prevention program. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 12, 109–119. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/07493797.
North Carolina Department of Commerce, Division of Employment Security. (2014). Labor force statistics, all areas by year. Retrieved from http://www.bls.gov/lau/.
O’Neill, H., & Woodward, R. (2002). Evaluation of the Parenting Wisely CD-ROM parent-training programme: An Irish replication. Irish Journal of Psychology, 23, 62–72. Retrieved from http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/riri20?open=32#vol_32.
Patterson, G. R. (1982). Coercive family process. Eugene, OR: Castalia.
Prinz, R. J., Foster, S., Kent, R. N., & O’Leary, K. D. (1979). Multivariate assessment of conflict in distressed and nondistressed mother-adolescent dyads. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 12, 691–700. https://doi.org/10.1901/jaba.1979.12-691.
Sabogal, F., Marin, G., Otero-Sabogal, R., Marin, B. V., & Perez-Stable, E. J. (1987). Hispanic familism and acculturation: What changes and what doesn’t? Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 9, 397–412. https://doi.org/10.1177/07399863870094003.
Sanders, M. R., Markie-Dadds, C., Tully, L. A., & Bor, W. (2000). The Triple P-Positive Parenting Program: A comparison of enhance, standard, and self-directed behavioral family intervention for parents of children with early onset conduct problems. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 68, 624–640. https://doi.org/10.1037/OT022-006X.68A624.
Sandler, I. N., Schoenfelder, E. N., Wochik, S. A., & MacKinnon, D. P. (2011). Long-term impact of prevention programs to promote effective parenting: Lasting effects but uncertain processes. Annual Review of Psychology, 62, 299–329. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.121208.131619.
Sandler, I. N., Wolchik, S. A., Cruden, G., Mahrer, N. E., Ahn, S., Brincks, A., et al. (2014). Overview of meta-analyses of the prevention of mental health, substance use, and conduct problems. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 10, 243–273. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-050212-185524.
Schafer, J. L. (1997). Analysis of incomplete multivariate data. Boca Raton, FL: Chapman Hall/CRC.
Smokowski, P. R., & Bacallao, M. (2009). Entre Dos Mundos/Between Two Worlds youth violence prevention for acculturating Latino families: A randomized trial comparing psycho-dramatic and support group delivery formats one-year after program participation. Small Group Research, 40, 3–27. https://doi.org/10.1177/1046496408326771.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). (2007). Promotion and prevention in mental health: Strengthening parenting and enhancing child resilience. Rockville, MD: Department of Health and Human Services Publication No. CMHS-SVP-0175.
U.S. Census Bureau. (2014). Small are income and poverty estimates. Retrieved from http://www.census.gov/did/www/saipe/data/index.html.
Wandersman, A., Duffy, J., Flaspohler, P., Noonan, R., Lubell, K., Stillman, L., et al. (2008). Bridging the gap between prevention research and practice: The interaction systems framework for dissemination and implementation. American Journal of Community Psychology, 41, 171–181. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-008-9174-z.
Willett, J. B. (1989). Some results on reliability for the longitudinal measurement of change: Implications for the design of studies of individual growth. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 49, 587–602.
Acknowledgements
This study was funded through a cooperative agreement from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (5 U01 CE001948) to the North Carolina Academic Center for Excellence in Youth Violence Prevention (NC-ACE).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Ethics declarations
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare they have no conflicts of interest.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Stalker, K.C., Rose, R.A., Bacallao, M. et al. Parenting Wisely Six Months Later: How Implementation Delivery Impacts Program Effects at Follow-Up. J Primary Prevent 39, 129–153 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10935-017-0495-2
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10935-017-0495-2