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Child and Parental Outcomes Following Involvement in a Preventive Intervention: Efficacy of the PACE Program

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Abstract

This study evaluated whether engagement (i.e., attendance and quality of participation) in the Parenting our Children to Excellence (PACE) program predicted positive child and parent outcomes. PACE in an 8-week preventive intervention aimed at parents of preschool children. The study investigated the relation of engagement to outcomes in an ethnically diverse sample of 610 parents and among a subset of those parents at high risk for child maltreatment. Overall results demonstrated that engagement in PACE significantly improved child and parent outcomes at post-assessment and/or one-year follow-up assessment. Results for the high-risk subsample were even stronger as engagement significantly improved almost all of the child and parent outcomes at post-assessment, which continued to significantly improve in the year following program completion. Findings provide support for the efficacy of PACE in improving child and parent outcomes in an ethnically diverse community population and among parents considered at risk for child maltreatment.

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Acknowledgments

This study would not have been possible without the collaboration of Marsha Hearn-Lindsey, Director, Child Care Answers, Indianapolis, of all the parents and children who participated in various aspects of the research, and of staff members who played major roles in data collection and program implementation, including Amanda Mosby, Sharon Hampton, and Stephanie Wynder. Their help and encouragement are gratefully acknowledged. This study was supported by grant R49/CCR 522339 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to the second author. The support and encouragement of Linda Anne Valle, Ph.D., and Michele Hoover is gratefully acknowledged. The study’s findings and conclusions are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Begle is supported by T32 MH18869-15.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Crime Victims Treatment and Research Center, Medical University of South Carolina, 67 President Street—2 South, Charleston, SC, USA

    Angela Moreland Begle

  2. University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland

    Jean E. Dumas

Authors
  1. Angela Moreland Begle
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  2. Jean E. Dumas
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Correspondence to Angela Moreland Begle.

Appendix

Appendix

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Table 5 Cumulative risk index: means and percentiles
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Begle, A.M., Dumas, J.E. Child and Parental Outcomes Following Involvement in a Preventive Intervention: Efficacy of the PACE Program. J Primary Prevent 32, 67–81 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10935-010-0232-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10935-010-0232-6

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