Play and Learning Strategies (PALS), a research-based parent education and support program, was delivered to families with low income via home visiting using a facilitator. Facilitators completed 12 home visits addressing responsive parenting, behavioral support, language stimulation, and support of attentional skills. This report compares PALS to M-PALS, a program that included a community mentor in addition to a facilitator. Community mentoring provided modeling of parenting skills and supportive services to decrease external stressors for mothers. Mothers who participated in the M-PALS and PALS programs for longer durations demonstrated more responsive behaviors. Mothers in the M-PALS program also had greater increases in verbal scaffolding and their children showed greater gains in cognitive scores. Verbal scaffolding was a mediating factor for child cognitive outcomes. Mentoring impacted child changes indirectly and should be studied further to determine other beneficial functions mentors might serve.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Bakermans-Kranenburg, M.J., van IJzendoorn, M.H., & Juffers, F. (2003). Less is more: Meta-analyses of sensitivity and attachment interventions in early childhood. Psychological Bulletin, 129(2), 195-215.
2.
Baron, R.M., & Kenny, D.A. (1986). The mediator-moderator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1173-1182.
3.
Bayley, N. (1993). Bayley scales of infant development (2nd ed.). San Antonio: Psychological Corporation.
4.
Bransford, J., Brown, A. & Cocking, R. R. (Eds.) (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. Committee on the Developments in the Science of Learning, National Research Council. Washington, D.C. : Academic Press.
5.
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). Contexts of child rearing: Problems and prospects . American Psychologist, 34(10), 844-850.
6.
Burchinal, M.R., Campbell, F.A., Bryant, D.M., Wasik, B.H., & Ramey, C.T. (1997). Early intervention and mediating processes in cognitive performance of children on low-income African-American families . Child Development, 68(5), 935-954.
7.
Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Hillside, NJ: Erlbaum.
8.
Daro, D. (1993). Child maltreatment research: Implications for program design. In D. Cicchetti & S. Toth (Eds.), Child abuse, child development, and social policy (pp. 331-367). Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
9.
Dempsey, I., & Dunst, C.J. (2004). Helpgiving styles and parent empowerment in families with a young child with a disability. Journal of Intellectual & Developmental Disability, 29(1), 40-51.
10.
Duncan, G.J., Brooks-Gunn, J., & Klebanov, P.K. (1994). Economic deprivation and early childhood development. Child Development, 65, 296-318.
11.
Evertson, C.M., & Smithey, M.W. (2000). Mentoring effects on proteges' classroom practice: An experimental field study. Journal of Educational Research , 93, 293-304.
12.
Fleiss, J.L. (1986). The design and analysis of clinical experiments . New York: Wiley.
13.
Frick, T., & Semmel, M.I. (1978). Observer agreement and reliabilities of classroom observational measures. Review of Educational Research, 48, 157-184.
14.
Gomby, D.S., Culross, P.L., & Behrman, R.E. (1999). Home visiting: Recent program evaluation—analysis and recommendations. The Future of Children, 9(1), 4-26.
15.
Halpern, R. (1999). Fragile families, fragile solutions: A history of supportive services for families in poverty. New York : Columbia University Press.
16.
Hancock, T.B., Kaiser, A.P., & Delaney, E.M. (2002). Teaching parents of preschoolers at high risk: Strategies to support language and positive behavior. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 22, 191-212.
17.
Hart, B., & Risley, T.R. (1995). Meaningful differences in the everyday experience of young American children. Baltimore: Brookes.
18.
Hodges, W.L., & Spicker, H.H. (1967). The effects of preschool experiences on culturally deprived children. In W. W. Hartup & N. L. Smothergill (Eds.), The young child: Reviews of research (pp. 262-289). Washington DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children.
19.
Hollingshead, A.B. (1975). Four factors index of social status. New Haven, CT: Department of Sociology, Yale University .
20.
Kaiser, A.P., & Hancock, T.B. (2003). Teaching parents new skills to support their young children's development. Infants & Young Children, 16, 9-21.
21.
Landry, S.H., Smith, K.E., Swank, P.R., Assel, M.A., & Vellet, S. (2001). Does early responsive parenting have a special importance for children's development or is consistency across early childhood necessary? Developmental Psychology, 37(3), 387-403.
22.
Landry, S.H., Smith, K.E., & Swank, P.R. (in press). Responsive parenting: Establishing early foundations for social, communication and independent problem solving. Developmental Psychology.
23.
Landry, S.H., & Smith, K.E. (in press). Family processes that support school readiness: Specific behaviors and contextual conditions that set this process in motion. In A. Booth & N. Crouter (Eds.), Early disparities in school readiness: How do families contribute to successful and unsuccessful transition into school. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum .
24.
Langhout, R.D., Rhodes, J.E., & Osborne, L.N. (2004). An exploratory study of youth mentoring in an urban context: Adolescents' perceptions of relationship styles. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 33(4), 293-306.
25.
McLoyd, V.C. (1998). Socioeconomic disadvantage and child development . American Psychologist, 53(2), 185-204.
26.
Mitchell, S.K. (1979). Interobserver agreement, reliability, and generalizability data collected in observation studies. Psychological Bulletin , 86, 376-390.
27.
Olds, D.L., Henderson, C.R., Kitzman, H.J., Eckenrode, J.J., Cole, R.E., & Tatelbaum, R.C. (1999). Prenatal and infancy home visitation by nurses: Recent findings. The Future of Children , 9(1), 44-65.
28.
Ramey, C.T., & Ramey, S.L. (1998). Early intervention and early experience. American Psychologist, 53(2), 109-120.
29.
Rappaport, J. (1984). Studies in empowerment: Introduction to the issues . In J. Rappaport & R. Hess (Eds.), Studies in empowerment: Steps toward understanding and action (pp. 1-8). New York: Haworth Press.
30.
Rhodes, J.E., Grossman, J.B., & Resch, N.L. (2000). Agents of change: Pathways through which mentoring relationships influence adolescents' academic adjustment. Child Development, 71, 1662-1671.
31.
Roberts, R.N., Wasik, B.H., Casto, G., & Ramey, C.T. (1991). Family support in the home: Programs, policy and social change. American Psychologist, 46(2), 131-137.
32.
Rush, D.D., Shelden, M.L., & Hanft, B.E. (2003). Coaching families and colleagues: A process for collaboration in natural settings. Infants & Young Children , 16, 33-47.
33.
Smith, K.E., Landry, S.H., & Swank, P.R. (2005). The influence of decreased parental resources on the efficacy of a responsive parenting intervention. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 73(4), 711-720.
34.
Solomon, B.B. (1976). Black empowerment: Social work in oppressed communities . New York: Columbia University Press.
35.
Sweet, M.A., & Appelbaum, M.I. (2004). Is home visiting an effective strategy? A meta-analytic review of home visiting programs for families with young children. Child Development, 75, 1435-1456.
36.
Trivette, C.M., Dunst, C.J., Hamby, D.W., & LaPointe, N.J. (1996). Key elements of empowerment and their implications for early intervention. Infant-Toddler Intervention, 6(1), 59-73.
37.
Woods, J., & Goldstein, H. (2003). When the toddler takes over: Changing challenging routines into conduits for communication. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 18(3), 176-181.
