Abstract
Effective and emotionally nurturing parenting practices constitute salient protective factors in the lives of children and youth. Although social workers have influenced in important ways the scholarship associated with the development and dissemination of culturally relevant evidence-based parenting interventions for underserved populations, low-income ethnic minorities continue to lack access to culturally relevant and efficacious parenting interventions in the United States due to widespread mental health disparities. Addressing this gap in service delivery is necessary, particularly because populations exposed to historical oppression and intense contextual adversity are at an increased risk for engaging in harsh parenting practices. The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the process of change that we have documented as a group of 130 underserved Latino/a immigrant parents were exposed to a culturally adapted evidence-based parenting intervention. An emphasis on describing the process of change leading to improved outcomes is relevant for clinical social workers engaged in the direct delivery of preventative or clinical parenting interventions. Thus, this manuscript will focus on issues of engagement and retention of parents, with important consideration to the importance of integrating evidence-based knowledge, cultural relevance, and key principles of social work practice.
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Acknowledgments
This project was supported by Award Number R34MH087678 from the National Institute of Mental Health and Award Number 1K01DA036747 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, or the National Institutes of Health. Supplementary funding was provided by the MSU Office of the Vice-President for Research and Graduate Studies (OVPRGS), the MSU College of Social Science, and the MSU Department of Health and Human Development. We would like to express our deep gratitude to Marion Forgatch, ISII Executive Director and Laura Rains, ISII Director of Implementation and Training, for their resolved and continuous support as we have engaged in dissemination efforts with underserved populations in the US.
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Parra-Cardona, J.R., López-Zerón, G., Villa, M. et al. Enhancing Parenting Practices with Latino/a Immigrants: Integrating Evidence-Based Knowledge and Culture According to the Voices of Latino/a Parents. Clin Soc Work J 45, 88–98 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10615-016-0589-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10615-016-0589-y