Session: The Continuum of Cultural Adaptation: Implementation Feasibility and Efficacy of Three Differentially Adapted Parenting Interventions (Society for Prevention Research 23rd Annual Meeting)

International health and mental health organizations have recognized a need for evidence-based parenting programs in order to reduce child behavioral problems and the risk of child maltreatment in low- and middle-income countries as well as ethnic minorities in high-income countries. Thus, prevention researchers around the world are testing different strategies for developing and establishing culturally relevant and efficacious parenting programs. Critical questions need to be answered in empirical cultural adaptation research. For example, is it more efficacious and practical to transport existing programs with minimal adaptations or should researchers use a more thorough approach to culturally adapt interventions according to the local context of target communities and countries? The aim of this session is to present three different approaches in cultural adaptation research with the ultimate goal of increasing the feasibility and accessibility of parenting programs for undeserved populations worldwide. 

The first paper describes findings from a randomized controlled trial (RCT) in Panama of an efficacious Australian parenting program, the Triple P Positive Parenting Program. In this investigation, only minimal cultural adaptations were incorporated into the research design. The minimal adaptations were implemented according to parents’ feedback indicating that the original protocol was culturally acceptable. Empirical findings demonstrate the implementation feasibility and initial efficacy of this minimally adapted parenting intervention.

The second paper presents an investigation that compares and contrasts two differentially culturally adapted interventions of an efficacious parenting intervention known as Parent Management Training, the Oregon model (PMTO^R). This program of prevention research was implemented with low-income Latino immigrant parents in an urban setting in the Midwestern US. Differential feasibility and efficacy findings associated with different levels of cultural adaptation will be presented and discussed.  

The third paper presents findings from a pilot feasibility trial of a local parenting program originally developed in South Africa, the Sinovuyo Caring Families Program.  Rather than importing an existing program, this study describes an intervention informed by evidence-based approaches and principles but centered on a specific cultural context.  Preliminary findings indicate the implementation feasibility and initial efficacy of the intervention.   

In addition to presenting an overview of these studies, presenters will discuss the benefits of engaging in different approaches to cultural adaptation research. They will explore how a continuum of approaches offers alternatives to ensuring that common core evidence-based components can be maintained across interventions. Finally, the symposium will focus on reflections about how to conduct cultural adaptation research according to the type of adaptation (e.g., surface level vs. deep structure, or combination of both), the process of adaptation, feasibility, transportability and long-term sustainability.