Participation in Early Childhood Parenting Programs: An Ecological Framework Perspective in the U.S. and Globally

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Abstract

Research has long established the central role families play in promoting children’s early development. Yet, studies of parenting programs in this period fail to consider the tremendous influence that a program’s ecological context has for participation of families. Despite the establishment of initial and sustained engagement being a prerequisite for a parenting program’s success, surprisingly little research has focused on factors that influence these processes. Incorporating an ecological (person-context-time) framework, this paper symposium brings together new research on participation in the 0-5 period across three levels of ecological settings representing a range of program contexts. The first paper is focused on participation in Video Interaction Project (VIP) in the context of a community experiencing multiple public health crises, in this case COVID-19 compounding Flint Water Crisis in Flint, Michigan. The second paper is focused on a tiered intervention model employing a universal (VIP) and a selective intervention (Family Check-Up, FCU), and examining how participation in each tier of the intervention potentiates participation in the other. The final paper is focused on participation in a recently-developed group-based parenting intervention in the context of extreme-poverty in rural Brazil, a low- and middle- income country, to better understand how context affects participation from a global perspective and in a hard-hit country during the COVID-19 pandemic. This symposium offers a rare opportunity for the kind of synthesis and cross-setting learning necessary to inform the next generation of participation research, and further illustrates the implications that ecological context has for early childhood parenting programs.

Sub Unit

• Prevention and Interventions

Chair

• Elizabeth B. Miller, New York University School of Medicine

Discussant

• Susan M. Sheridan, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Individual Presentations

• Participation in a Preventive Parenting Intervention among Low-Income Families During Multiple Public Health Crises - Presenting Author: Lauren O'Connell, Michigan State University; Non-Presenting Author: Caitlin Ford Canfield, NYU Grossman School of Medicine; Non-Presenting Author: Shanna Williams, Hurley Medical Center; Non-Presenting Author: Caroline Diane Raak, New York University School of Medicine; Non-Presenting Author: Alan L Mendelsohn, NYU Grossman School of Medicine

• Increasing Reach of Preventive Programs through a Tiered Approach Tailored to Heterogeneity in Risk - Presenting Author: Caitlin Ford Canfield, NYU Grossman School of Medicine; Non-Presenting Author: Elizabeth B. Miller, New York University School of Medicine; Non-Presenting Author: Daniel S. Shaw, University of Pittsburgh; Non-Presenting Author: Pamela Morris-Perez, New York University; Non-Presenting Author: Erin Roby, NYU Grossman School of Medicine; Non-Presenting Author: Alan L Mendelsohn, NYU Grossman School of Medicine

• Predictors of Attendance in Reading Aloud Programs in Brazil: Results from Two RCTs - Presenting Author: Luciane da Rosa Piccolo, New York University School of Medicine; Non-Presenting Author: Adriana Weisleder, Northwestern University; Non-Presenting Author: Denise Mazzuchelli, Instituto Alfa e Beto; Non-Presenting Author: Walfrido Duarte Neto, Instituto Alfa e Beto; Non-Presenting Author: Guilherme Hirata; Non-Presenting Author: João Batista Araujo Oliveira; Non-Presenting Author: Alan L Mendelsohn, NYU Grossman School of Medicine