Nuestras Familias

OVERVIEW

Nuestras Familias: Anando Entre Culturas (Our Families: Moving Between Cultures) is an adaption of Parent Management training. The intervention is designed to impact parenting practices of monolingual Spanish-speaking parents with middle-aged school youth at risk for problem behaviors. In a randomized experimental trial of the intervention’s efficacy and effect, participants assigned to the intervention condition were found to improve in the areas of parenting practices (i.e., general parenting, skill encouragement, overall effective parenting) and youth outcomes (i.e., aggression, externalizing, and likelihood of smoking).

DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM

Target population: monolingual Spanish-speaking immigrant parents

Nuestras Familias: Anando Entre Culturas (Our Families: Moving Between Cultures) is a version of Parent Management Training, specifically targeting parent empowerment and parental efficacy of monolingual Spanish-speaking immigrant parents. It is a clinical and prevention intervention aimed at decreasing the likelihood of youth substance use and related negative outcomes, and promoting healthy adjustment. The intervention was delivered by entrenadores (coaches) entirely in Spanish over a 12-week span, and included between 12 and 15 parents per session. Each week parents received new information about the session topic, along with the assigned home practice exercises for the week. During the week following the session, coaches contacted each parent by phone to review past session material, check on progress with home assignments, offer support, and answer questions.

EVALUATION(S) OF PROGRAM

Martinez, C. R. Jr., and Eddy, M. (2005). Effects of culturally adapted parent management training on Latino youth behavioral outcomes. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 73(4), 841-851.

Evaluated population: Seventy-three mothers, fathers, and middle-school youth participated in the study, half of whom were randomly assigned to the intervention condition and the other half to the control condition. Eighty-two percent of participating families were from two-biological-parent families, and 18% were from families that included a biological mother and a step-father. Overall, 56% of the participating youth were boys, and 44% were girls. The youth who were foreign-born had lived in the United States an average of 6.56 years. Mother’s average age was 36.4 years, and father’s average age was 39.3 years old. All were of Latino descent, with 90% tracing their origin to Mexico and the remaining tracing their origin to Peru and Central America.

Approach: Over a period of 12 weeks, the intervention was delivered as an efficacy trial at the Oregon Social Learning Center (OSLC). The 36 families randomly assigned to the control condition received no project-related intervention services during the course of the study. The remaining 37 families, assigned to intervention condition participated in weekly group sessions, along with multiple assessments of parental involvement, parental monitoring, parental engagement in homework, skill encouragement, appropriate discipline practices, parenting practices, youth adjustments, aggression and externalizing behavior, academic success, youth depression, and likelihood of substance use.

Based on interviews, participants were assessed on measures of positive parental involvement, monitoring, homework engagement, skill encouragement, appropriate discipline, and general parenting. Youth and parents were also assessed on aggression, externalizing behavior, academic success, depression, and likelihood of tobacco, alcohol, or substance use.

Results: On measures of general parenting practices, skill encouragement, and overall effective parenting, the treatment and control groups were statistically different. Participants assigned to the intervention condition evidenced greater improvements on these measures than those assigned to the control condition. Similarly, a statistical difference between the intervention and control participants was found for youth aggression, externalizing problems, likelihood of tobacco use, and depression. Participation in the intervention condition was associated with greater improvements on these measures.

There were no significant differences between groups on positive parent involvement, monitoring, homework engagement, and appropriate discipline. Among youth, there were no significant differences between groups on academic success or likelihood of alcohol use. Likelihood of substance use was marginally significant. None of the effect sizes measured were higher than 0.16.

SOURCES FOR MORE INFORMATION

References

Program categorized in this guide according to the following:

Evaluated participant ages: middle-school/Program age ranges in the Guide: 12-14 years

Program components: home visiting; parent or family component; school-based

Measured outcomes: education and cognitive development; social and emotional health and development; physical health; behavioral problems; mental health

KEYWORDS: Culturally Sensitive, Parenting, Hispanic or Latino, Behavioral problems, Home Visitation, Parent or Family Component, Social and Emotional Health and Development, Physical Health, Mental Health, At-Risk, Middle School, School-Based, Adolescence (12-17), Monolingual, Spanish Speaking, Substance Use.

Program information last updated 4/17/2009.

		© Child Trends 2003