Belief in the American Dream: Differences in Goals Among Mexican-American Families Predicts Initiation of Parent Training

Introduction: Behavioral parent training (BPT) can be employed as effective prevention measure for a number of costly societal problems, including child conduct problems, later risk for substance abuse, and child abuse. BPT has proven effective with a wide range of populations, and it is a relatively low-cost intervention, making it ideal for widespread dissemination. However, BPT remains underutilized, and a significant barrier to widespread implementation is low parental attendance. Low income and low parental education are frequently cited as predictors of low participation in BPT; however, some research has shown the reverse for Mexican-American (MA) families. Several studies of BPT for MA families have found greater participation among less acculturated families, despite lower parent education and income. Less acculturated MA families are usually more recent immigrants, and one of the primary reasons parents immigrate to the U.S. is to give their children a better future. For more recently immigrated families, goals for their children’s future may be more salient than for families who have acculturated. Having salient goals for their children may explain why less-acculturated families are more likely to participate in BPT.

Hypothesis: Less acculturated families will have more goals that are relevant to BPT, and both acculturation and goal match will significantly predict initiation of BPT.

Methods: This project used data from a study of the Triple P Parenting Program in a sample of n= 122 MA families; the larger study was testing an engagement package designed to increase program enrollment. The sample was stratified by primary language; half of the families in each condition (experimental v. control) were primarily Spanish-speaking, and half were primarily English-speaking. Parents listed their top three goals, and these goals were coded for Triple P relevancy. Goal match is the percentage of goals that were Triple P Relevant. Outcome measure was initiation of BPT (yes/no).

Results: Zero-order correlations revealed that acculturation was negatively correlated with goal match and BPT initiation; more acculturated families had fewer Triple P relevant goals, and were less likely to initiate BPT. A binary logistic regression model revealed that experimental condition (B=-1.19, p= .01) and goal match (B=.02, p=.05) were significantly related to BPT initiation, but acculturation was not (B=-.13, p=.12); the overall model was significant, c²(3)=14.67; p=.002.

Conclusions: Among MA families, the degree to which parents’ goals are consistent with BPT is a stronger predictor of BPT initiation than acculturation. These findings suggest increasing the saliency of MA parents’ goals for their children may be a viable way to increase participation in BPT.