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CARING: The Impact of a Parent–Child, Play-Based Intervention to Promote Latino Head Start Children’s Social–Emotional Development

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Abstract

CARING is a preventive, play-based, parent–child intervention designed to promote preschoolers’ social–emotional development by strengthening their bonds with their parents. We describe the qualitative impact of the CARING Preschool program on Latino preschool children and their parents. One hundred and eleven Latino families participated in a larger study of the efficacy of the CARING preschool program. Of these families, 40 participated in this qualitative study. We invited families to participate in a focus group after completing the intervention. We used an inductive approach based on grounded theory to identify thematic categories. Parents reported substantial changes in themselves, their children and the quality of their relationships with their children as a result of their participation in CARING. Parents also reported an increased understanding of their children’s needs, their ability to use at home the skills learned during the intervention, and improved parent–child communication. In addition, parents reported the social skills and self-regulation abilities of their children improved. These findings highlight the promise of preventive, low-cost interventions for families facing socioeconomic and psychosocial adversity, and their potential role in strengthening parent–child relationships. Results highlight cultural parenting practices and implications for intervention with Latino families.

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Funding

This research was supported by The Gloria and Hilliard Farber Foundation, The Chaparral Foundation, The Rosenshein Foundation, The American Psychoanalytic Association.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Heilbrunn Department of Population and Family Health, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, 60 Haven Avenue, B-2, Room 211, New York, NY, 10032, USA

    Helena Duch & Maria Marti

  2. Department of Child Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

    William Wu & Robin Snow

  3. Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY, USA

    Vanessa Garcia

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  1. Helena Duch
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  2. Maria Marti
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  3. William Wu
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  4. Robin Snow
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Correspondence to Helena Duch.

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Duch, H., Marti, M., Wu, W. et al. CARING: The Impact of a Parent–Child, Play-Based Intervention to Promote Latino Head Start Children’s Social–Emotional Development. J Primary Prevent 40, 171–188 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10935-019-00542-7

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