Predicting Participation in Group Parenting Education in an Australian Sample: The Role of Attitudes, Norms, and Control Factors

Condemn or Treat? The Influence of Adults' Stigmatizing Attitudes on Mental Health Service Use for Children

Stigmatizing attitudes towards mental disorders influence parents’ help-seeking behavior for their child’s mental health problems. As untreated mental disorders can cause morbidity and mortality, such parental attitudes are a serious barrier for public health promotion. Therefore, the help-seeking readiness in a distressed child’s broad social environment is essential. However, the role of stigma was unexplored in this context. This study empirically investigated the influence of adults’ stigmatizing attitudes towards mentally disabled people on their readiness to seek professional help for children’s mental health issues. Data from a representative German sample (N = 1906; 52% female) were collected between July and October 2021. A heteroscedastic ordered probit model was used for estimation. An empirical analysis provides evidence for a significant negative relationship between adults’ stigmatizing attitudes and their readiness to initiate mental health support for children (ß = −0.01; p < 0.001). Support acceptance seems to be independent of having children. To tackle stigmatizing attitudes and to promote public health, mental health literacy should be fostered through broad-based approaches. Awareness should be raised that children are also entitled to mental health care, just as they are in other health areas. Policy makers need to promote comprehensive information about mental illnesses and create incentives for acute and preventive service use.

Behavioral Economics and Parent Participation in an Evidence-Based Parenting Program at Scale

Evidence-based and culturally relevant parenting programs strengthen adults' capacity to support children's health and development. Optimizing parent participation in programs implemented at scale is a prevailing challenge. Our collaborative team of program developers, implementers, and researchers applied insights from the field of behavioral economics (BE) to support parent participation in ParentCorps-a family-centered program delivered as an enhancement to pre-kindergarten-as it scaled in a large urban school district. We designed a bundle of BE-infused parent outreach materials and successfully showed their feasibility in site-level randomized pilot implementation. The site-level study did not show a statistically significant impact on family attendance. A sub-study with a family-level randomization design showed that varying the delivery time of BE-infused digital outreach significantly increased the likelihood of families attending the parenting program. Lessons on the potential value of a BE-infused approach to support outreach and engagement in parenting programs are discussed in the context of scaling up efforts.

A Model of Intention to Participate in Parenting Interventions: The Role of Parent Cognitions and Behaviors

A wide range of factors, from perceived child behavior problems to sociocultural factors, have been identified as impacting the engagement of parents in parenting interventions. However, parents' cognitions and behaviors have not been evaluated sufficiently to understand their role in initial parental engagement. The current study aimed to examine why some parents are more likely to want to participate in parenting programs and how their cognitions and behaviors are related to their intention to participate in future parenting interventions. We tested the hypothesised model of parental factors on intention to participate using structural equation modelling (SEM) in AMOS. This study (N = 6,733) analyzed existing data from the International Parenting Survey (IPS), a web-based tool developed to collect information about parents' views on family and parenting at a population level in several countries. Results showed that parents' coercive parenting, parental consistency, positive encouragement, relationship with their child, parental self-efficacy, psychological distress, and help-seeking behaviors were significantly related to their intention to participate in future parenting interventions. The structural model of parents' cognitions and behaviors explained 16% of the variance in intention to participate. Although the current model explained a small but significant percentage of the variance, it expands existing understanding regarding parental cognitions and behaviors and their relationship to intention. Implications for further research and engagement practice are discussed.

The operationalization of self-identity in reasoned action models: a systematic review of self-identity operationalizations in three decades of research

Background

Self-identity has frequently been proposed as a useful addition to the Theory of Planned Behavior; yet Fishbein and Ajzen decided to not include self-identity when they published that theory's successor, the Reasoned Action Approach. One of their reasons for exclusion is the lack of clear conceptual independence, as manifested in self-identity operationalizations that often conflate the construct with attitudinal or normative measures. Therefore, establishing whether self-identity has added value in the Reasoned Action Approach first requires synthesis of the used operationalisations to develop an operationalization that captures self-identity but not attitude and perceived norm.

Method

In this systematic review we identified 153 articles through the PsycINFO database and descendency approach using Google Scholar. In total, 342 of the operationalisations of self-identity were identified in studies operationalizing it as a potential Reasoned Action Approach extension.

Results and conclusions

After analyzing the full item pool to eliminate duplicates and items that did not measure selfidentity, (also) measured attitudes or norms, did not allow tailoring formulations to target, action, context and time, were not applicable to a wide variety of behaviors, or were ambiguous, seven prototypical items remained. These items lend themselves well for further psychometric study to establish the conceptual independence of self-identity from other Reasoned Action Approach constructs such as attitude and perceived norms.

A randomized trial of methods to engage Mexican American parents into a school-based parenting intervention

OBJECTIVE

This study examined the efficacy of motivational strategies for increasing engagement into evidence-based, parenting interventions delivered through schools.

METHOD

Participants were 122 mothers of kindergarten and third grade students attending an urban school that predominantly served Mexican American families living in low-income conditions. At pretest, mothers reported sociocultural characteristics, and teachers rated children's behavior. Mothers randomly assigned to the experimental condition received a multicomponent engagement package; mothers assigned to the control condition received a brochure plus a nonengagement survey interview. All families were offered a free parenting program delivered at their child's school. Dependent variables included parenting program enrollment, initiation (i.e., attending at least 1 session), and attendance.

RESULTS

Parents in the experimental condition were more likely to initiate compared with those in the control condition if their children had high baseline concentration problems (OR = 8.98, p < .001, 95% CI [2.55, 31.57]). Parents in the experimental condition attended more sessions than did those in the control condition if their children had high baseline concentration problems (p < .01, d = .49, 95% CI [.35, 2.26]) or conduct problems (p < .01, d = .54, 95% CI [.51, 2.56]). Highly acculturated parents attended more sessions if assigned to the experimental condition than the control condition (p < .01, d = .66, 95% CI [.28, 2.57]).

CONCLUSIONS

The motivational engagement package increased parenting program initiation and attendance for parents of students at-risk for behavior problems. (PsycINFO Database Record

A parent-directed language intervention for children of low socioeconomic status: a randomized controlled pilot study

We designed a parent-directed home-visiting intervention targeting socioeconomic status (SES) disparities in children's early language environments. A randomized controlled trial was used to evaluate whether the intervention improved parents' knowledge of child language development and increased the amount and diversity of parent talk. Twenty-three mother-child dyads (12 experimental, 11 control, aged 1;5-3;0) participated in eight weekly hour-long home-visits. In the experimental group, but not the control group, parent knowledge of language development increased significantly one week and four months after the intervention. In lab-based observations, parent word types and tokens and child word types increased significantly one week, but not four months, post-intervention. In home-based observations, adult word tokens, conversational turn counts, and child vocalization counts increased significantly during the intervention, but not post-intervention. The results demonstrate the malleability of child-directed language behaviors and knowledge of child language development among low-SES parents.

From thought to action: young parents' reasons for participation in parenting support groups at child welfare centers

In this article the focus is on young parents' engagement process in relation to participation in parenting support groups carried out at child welfare centers. This qualitative study focuses not only on young parents' reasons for participating or not participating in parenting support groups during different phases in their engagement process, but also on examining the circumstances that may contribute to such changes. The results show that these reasons can be divided into four categories: the staff, other participants, the social network, and practical circumstances. It also appears that these reasons change between different phases of their engagement process. Primarily three different circumstances contributed to variation in parents' reasons: difficulty in predicting the value of participation, increased closeness in relationships with staff and other parents, and the specific life phase in which young parents find themselves. The results have important implications for policy makers and practitioners in their work in formulating and updating parenting support; they also indicate what may be important to focus on in the recruitment of young parents, and also what may be crucial in regard to them completing their engagement in parent support groups.

Factors Associated With Parental Rules for Adolescent Alcohol Use

This study used the Resilient Families baseline survey to examine associations between the connectedness of parents within the school and parents' rules regarding their children's use of alcohol, prior participation in parenting education, and parents' demographic characteristics. The study involved parents of Year 7 students (mean age 12 years) at secondary schools in Melbourne, Australia (N = 1,238; 2004). Most parents (54%) had no connections with parents of other children in their child's school year. Allowing children to have sips of alcohol or drinks on special occasions was reported by 23% and 6% of parents, respectively, but neither was significantly associated with parental connectedness.

The role of stigma in parental help-seeking for child behavior problems

The present study examined the relationship between stigma and parental help-seeking after controlling for demographics, child behavior, and barriers to treatment. One hundred fifteen parents of children ages 4 to 8 years were surveyed during well-child visits in a rural pediatric primary care practice. Parental perceptions of stigma toward parents and children were both assessed. Parents believe that children are more likely to be stigmatized by the public and personally impacted by stigma. In linear regression analyses, parents rated themselves as more likely to attend parenting classes with lower levels of self-stigma and greater levels of personal impact of stigma. Stigma toward the child was not associated with help-seeking. Child behavior moderated the relationship between stigma and parental help-seeking. When referring parents to treatment, providers should address potential stigma concerns. Future research should assess both the impact of the stigma of attending treatment and the stigma of having a child with behavior problems.

The role of social support and social networks in smoking behavior among middle and older aged people in rural areas of South Korea: a cross-sectional study

Background

Although the number of studies on anti-smoking interventions has increased, studies focused on identifying social contextual factors in rural areas are scarce. The purpose of this study was to explore the role of social support and social networks in smoking behavior among middle and older aged people living in rural areas of South Korea.

Methods

The study employed a cross-sectional design. Participants included 1,057 adults, with a mean age of 60.7 years, residing in rural areas. Information on participants' tobacco use, stress, social support, and social networks was collected using structured questionnaires. The chi-square test, the t-test, ANOVA, and logistic regression were used for data analysis.

Results

The overall smoking prevalence in the study was 17.4% (men, 38.8%; women, 5.1%). Overall, stress was high among women, and social support was high among men. Smokers had high levels of social support (t = -2.90, p = .0038) and social networks (t = -2.22, p = .0271), as compared to non- and former smokers. Those in the high social support group were likely to be smokers (AOR = 2.21, 95% CI 1.15-4.26). Women with moderate social ties were less likely to smoke (AOR = 0.18, 95% CI 0.05-0.61).

Conclusion

There was a protective role of a moderate social network level among women, and a high level of social support was associated with smoking behaviors in rural areas. Findings suggest the need for a comprehensive understanding of the functions and characteristics of social contextual factors including social support and social networks in order to conduct more effective anti-smoking interventions in rural areas.