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Predictors of Enrollment and Retention in a Preventive Parenting Intervention for Divorced Families

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Abstract

Participation rates in parenting programs are typically low, severely limiting the public health significance of these interventions. We examined predictors of parenting program enrollment and retention in a sample of 325 divorced mothers. Predictors included intervention timing and maternal reports of child, parent, family, and sociocultural risk factors. In multivariate analyses, child maladjustment and family income-to-needs positively predicted enrollment, and higher maternal education and recruitment near the time of the divorce predicted retention. Findings have implications for the optimal timing of preventive parenting programs for divorcing families and point to the importance of examining predictors of enrollment and retention simultaneously. Editors’ Strategic Implications: Parent education researchers and practitioners may find the authors’ application of the Health Belief Model to be a useful organizing framework for improving engagement and retention.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by grants from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) (5T32MH018387-15 and 1K01MH074045). Portions of this research were presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Prevention Research, Washington, D.C., May, 2005.

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  1. Prevention Research Center, Arizona State University, Psychology North, Suite 205, P.O. Box 876005, Tempe, AZ, 85287-6005, USA

    Emily B. Winslow, Darya Bonds, Sharlene Wolchik, Irwin Sandler & Sanford Braver

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  1. Emily B. Winslow
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  2. Darya Bonds
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  3. Sharlene Wolchik
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  4. Irwin Sandler
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Correspondence to Emily B. Winslow.

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Winslow, E.B., Bonds, D., Wolchik, S. et al. Predictors of Enrollment and Retention in a Preventive Parenting Intervention for Divorced Families. J Primary Prevent 30, 151–172 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10935-009-0170-3

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