Objective: A multidisciplinary preventive parent mentoring intervention was applied through home visiting with high-risk families receiving well-baby health care. Two implementations were examined for effectiveness. Method: The first implementation employed a quasiexperimental nonequivalent group design, whereas the second used a randomized experiment. A multivariate repeated-measures design compared intervention and control families from both implementations on parenting outcomes. Logistic regressions examined children’s outcomes. Results: Compared to controls, intervention families significantly improved their family resources, parenting knowledge, practices, and maternal resilience. Intervention status significantly predicted children’s immunization and early language. Conclusions: Parent mentoring anchored in multidisciplinary approach with empirically informed practices may be a desirable intervention addressing the multifaceted developmental needs of very young children. Limitations and implications for practice are addressed.
American Academy of Pediatrics. (2003). Policy statement: Family-centered care and the pediatrician’s role. Pediatrics, 112, 691-696.
2.
Applegate, J.S., & Shapiro, J. ( 2005). Neurobiology for clinical social work. New York: Norton.
3.
Ayoub, C.C. ( 2006). Adaptive and maladaptive parenting: Influence on child development. In N. F. Watt, C. C. Ayoub, R. H. Bradley , J. E. Puma, & W. A. LeBoeuf (Eds.), The crisis in youth mental health: Critical issues and effective programs (Vol. 4, pp. 121-143). Westport, CT: Praeger.
4.
Barnard, K. ( 1994). Keys to care giving-NCAST program. Available from www.ncast.org
5.
Barrera, I., & Corso, R.M. ( 2003). Skilled dialogue: Strategies for responding to cultural diversity in early childhood. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes.
6.
Bavolek, S.J., & Keene, R. ( 1999). Adult-Adolescent Parenting Inventory (AAPI-2). Eau Claire, WI: Family Development Resources. Borkowski, J.G., & Weaver, C.M. ( 2006). Prevention. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes.
7.
Bornstein, M. H. (Ed.) (2002). Handbook of parenting: Social condition and applied parenting (Vol. 4). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
8.
Bradley, R.H., & Corwyn, R.F. ( 2002). Socioeconomic status and child development. Annual Review of Psychology, 53, 371-399.
9.
Brazelton, T.B. ( 1992). Touchpoints: The essential reference, your child’s emotional and behavioral development. Cambridge, MA: Perseus.
10.
Brazelton, T.B., & Greenspan, S.I. (2000). The irreducible needs of children. Cambridge, MA: Perseus .
11.
Bricker, D., & Squires, J. ( 2002). Ages & Stages Questionnaires (ASQ). Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes.
12.
Briscoe, B., & Harris, B. ( 1994). Resiliency Attitude Scale (RAS) manual. Oklahoma City, OK: Eagle Ridge Institute.
13.
Campbell, D.T., & Stanley, J.C. ( 1963). Experimental and quasiexperimental designs for research . Chicago, Ill: Rand McNally.
14.
Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). ( 1999). Progress in reducing risky infant sleeping positions: 13 states, 1996-1997. MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 48, 878-882.
15.
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. ( 2003). Early and periodic screening, diagnosis, and treatment (EPSDT): Retrieved April 10, 2007, from http://cms.hhs.gov/medicaid/epsdt
16.
Chavez, L.M., & Canino, G. ( 2005). Toolkit on translating and adapting instruments. The Evaluation HSRI Center: Retrieved April 10, 2007, from http://tecathsri.org
17.
Chinn, S. ( 2000). A simple method for converting an odds ratio to effect size for use in meta-analysis. Statistics in Medicine, 19, 3127-3131.
18.
DeBellis, M.D. ( 2005). The psychobiology of neglect. Child Maltreatment , 10, 150-172.
19.
Dunst, C., & Leet, H. ( 1987). Measuring the adequacy of resources in households with young children. Child: Care, Health, and Development, 13, 111-125.
20.
Farber, M.L.Z. (in press). Parent mentoring and child anticipatory guidance with Latino and African-American families, Health and Social Work.
21.
Feldman, H.M., Dollaghan, C.A., Campbell, T.F., Kurs-Lasky, M., Janosky, J.E., & Paradise, J.L. (2000). Measurement properties of the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventories at ages one and two years. Child Development, 71, 310-322.
22.
Fenson, L., Pethick, S., Renda, C., Cox, J.L., Dale, P.S., & Reznick, J.S. ( 2000) Short form versions of the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventories. Applied Psycholinguistics, 21, 95-115.
23.
Gowen, J.W., & Nebrig, J.B. ( 2002). Enhancing early emotional development: Guiding parents of young children. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes.
24.
Hanft, B.E., Rush, D.D. & Shelden, M.L. ( 2004). Coaching families and colleagues in early childhood. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes.
25.
Hanson, M.J., & Lynch, E.W. ( 2004). Understanding families: Approaches to diversity, disability, and risk. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes.
26.
Hulley, S.B., Cummings, S.R., Browner, W.S., Grady, D., Hearst, N., & Newman, T.B. ( 2006). Designing clinical research. Philadelphia : Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
27.
Klass, P. ( 2003). The home visitor’s guide book: Promoting optimal parent and child development. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes. Landy, S., & Menna, R. (2006). Early intervention with multi-risk families. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes.
28.
Landy, S., & Thompson, E. ( 2004). Pathways to competence for young children. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes.
Long, N. ( 2008). Editorial: Closing the gap between research and practice-The importance of practitioner training. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 13, 187-190.
31.
Lumley, J., Austin, M.P., & Mitchell, C. ( 2004). Intervening to reduce depression after birth: A systematic review of the randomized trials. International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care, 20, 128-144.
32.
MacMillan, H.L., & Canadian Task Force on Preventive Care ( 2000). Preventive health care, 2000 update: Prevention of child maltreatment. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 163, 1451-1458.
33.
Maldonado-Duran, J.M. ( 2002). Infant and toddler mental health. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc.
34.
Margolin, G., & Gordis, E.B. ( 2000). The effects of family and community violence on children . Annual Review of Psychology, 51, 445-479.
35.
Miller, J.F., Sedey, A.L., & Miolo, G. ( 1995). Validity of parent report measures of vocabulary development for children with Down’s syndrome. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 38, 1037-1044.
36.
Nelson, E.C., Splaine, M.E., Godfrey, M.M., et al. (2000). Using data to improve medical practice by measuring, processes and outcomes of care. Joint Commission Journal on Quality Improvement, 26, 667 -685.
37.
New Freedom Commission on Mental Health. ( 2003). Achieving the promise: Transforming mental health care in America: Final report. Rockville, MD: DHHD Pub. No. SMA-03-3832.
38.
Norr, K.F., Crittenden, K.S., Lehrer, E.L., Reyes, O., Boyd, C.B., Nacion, K.W., et al. (2003). Maternal and infant outcomes at one year for a Nurse-Health Advocate home visiting program serving African Americans and Mexican Americans. Public Health Nursing, 20, 190-203.
39.
O'Brien, R.A. ( 2005). Translating a research intervention into community practice: The Nurse Family Partnership. The Journal of Primary Prevention , 26, 241-257.
40.
Olds, D. ( 2006). The nurse-family partnership. In N. F. Watt, C. C. Ayoub, R. H. Bradley, J. E. Puma, & W. A. LeBoeuf (Eds.), The crisis in youth mental health: Critical issues and effective programs (Vol. 4, pp. 121-143). Westport, CT : Praeger.
41.
Olds, D., Robinson, J., Pettit, L., Luckey, D., Holmberg, J., Ng, R., et al. (2004). Effects of home visits by paraprofessionals and by nurses: Age 4 follow-up results of a randomized trial. Pediatrics, 114, 1560-1568.
42.
Osofsky, J.D. ( 2004). Young children and trauma. New York : Guilford.
43.
Proctor, E., & Rosen, A. ( 2008). From knowledge production to implementation: Research challenges and imperative. Research on Social Work Practice , 17, 285-291.
44.
Roberts, J.E., Burchinal, M., & Durham, M. ( 1999). Parent’s report of vocabulary and grammatical development of African American preschoolers: Child and environmental associations. Child Development, 70, 92-106.
45.
Rodewalt, L., & Santoli, J. ( 2001). The challenge of vaccinating vulnerable children. Journal of Pediatrics, 139, 613-615.
46.
Rubin, A. ( 2008). Practitioner’s guide to using research for evidence-based practice. New York: John Wiley.
47.
Sameroff, A.J., & Chandler, M.J. (1975). Reproductive risk and the continuum of caretaking casualty. In F. Horowitz , M. Hetherington, S. Scarr-Salapatek, & G. Siegel (Eds.), Review of child development research (Vol. 4, pp. 187-244). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
48.
Sameroff, A. J., McDonough, S. C., & Rosenblum, K. L. (Eds.).( 2004). Treating parent-infant relationship problems. New York: Guilford.
49.
Smith, L.E., Nicholson, J.S., & Schatz, J.N. ( 2006). Preventing early developmental delay. In J. G. Borkowski & C. M. Weaver (Eds.), Prevention (pp. 55-81). Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes.
50.
Squires, J., & Bricker, D. ( 2007). An activity-based approach to developing young children’s social emotional competence. Baltimore, MD: P. H. Brookes.
51.
Summers, J.A., Marquis, J., Mannan, H., Turnbull, A.P., Fleming, K., Poston, D.J., et al. (2007). Relationship of perceived adequacy of services, family-professional partnerships, and family quality of life in early childhood service programs. International Journal of Development, Disability, and Education, 54, 319-338.
The Future of Children. (2005). School readiness: Closing racial and ethnic gaps (Vol. 15). Retrieved April 10, 2007, from www.futureofchildren.org
54.
Thyer, B. ( 2008). The quest for evidenced-based practice?: We are all positivists!Research on Social Work Practice, 18, 339-345.
55.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. ( 2001). Youth violence: A report of the Surgeon General. Rockville, MD: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services.
56.
van Doesum, K.T., Riksen-Walraven, J.M., Hosman, C.M., & Hoefnagels, C. (2008). A randomized controlled trial of a home- visiting intervention aimed at preventing relationship problems in depressed mothers and their infants. Child Development , 79, 3, 547-561.
57.
Walsh, F. ( 2003). Normal family process. New York: Guilford.
58.
Walsh, F. ( 1998). Strengthening family resilience. New York: Guilford.
59.
Weatherston, D. ( 2000, October-November). The infant mental health specialist . Zero to Three, pp. 46-83.
60.
Yarnall, K.S., Pollack, K.I., Ostbye, T., Krause, K.M., & Michener, J.L. (2003). Primary care: Is there enough time for prevention? American Journal of Public Health , 93, 635-641.
61.
Zuckerman, B., Stevens, G.D., Inkelas, M., & Halfon, N. ( 2004). Prevalence and correlates of high quality basic pediatric preventive care. Pediatrics, 114, 1522-1528.
