Session: Increasing Parent Involvement in Educational and Psychosocial Interventions (Society for Prevention Research 23rd Annual Meeting)

Parents have a central role in most evidence-based educational and preventive interventions for youth with emotional and behavioral problems (Clarke, Hops, Lewinsohn, Andrews et al., 1992; Erhardt & Baker, 1990; Jeynes, 2003, 2005, 2007; Page, Poertner, & Lindbloom, 1995). Educational and mental health services that do not address family practices often have limited impact and may sometimes even be harmful (Dishion, McCord, & Poulin, 1999; Spoth et al., 2002).  Unfortunately, a key challenge of implementing evidence-based programs in schools and communities has been the difficulty in successfully engaging parents in these services. Notably, parents from disadvantaged backgrounds and those with children with the highest service needs have the lowest level of school and services participation (Park et al., 1994; El Nokali et al., 2010). Several structural barriers interfere with parent participation in school- and clinic-based services including the perception that participation is too demanding and time consuming and the difficulty accessing services that are offered at inconvenient times or locations. Additionally, many aspects of the school and clinic environment, including biases and negative perceptions of staff, may also make these settings unwelcoming to parents (Stormshak et al., 2005).

This symposium will present three papers that evaluated strategies for promoting parent engagement in educational or mental health services. The first paper, by Thompson and colleagues describes the effect of the Incredible Years Teacher Classroom Management (IY TCM) program on teacher perceptions of parent involvement in a large, group randomized trial.  IY TCM includes components that encourage teachers to examine their assumptions and biases about parents and to develop and/or repair relationships with challenging students and families. 

The second paper, by Bierman and colleagues explores the problem of accessibility by examining the impact of coordinated classroom and home visit programs in Head Start.  In analyses of two randomized trials, this study found unique benefits of a parent-enhanced home visiting program designed to complement a teacher classroom intervention.

Finally, Lochman and colleagues addressed the problem of program length and intensity by examining the effects of a reduced hybrid version of Coping Power that included brief in person and online components. Analysis suggests that the internet-enhanced program favorably impacted student outcomes relative a comparison group.