A Randomized Trial of Methods to Engage Mexican American Parents into a School-Based Parenting Intervention

Objective: This study examined the efficacy of motivational strategies for increasing engagement into evidence-based, parenting interventions delivered through schools. Method: Participants were 122 mothers of kindergarten and third grade students attending an urban school that predominantly served Mexican American families living in low-income conditions. At pretest, mothers reported sociocultural characteristics, and teachers rated children's behavior. Mothers randomly assigned to the experimental condition received a multicomponent engagement package; mothers assigned to the control condition received a brochure plus a nonengagement survey interview. All families were offered a free parenting program delivered at their child's school. Dependent variables included parenting program enrollment, initiation (i.e., attending at least 1 session), and attendance. Results: Parents in the experimental condition were more likely to initiate compared with those in the control condition if their children had high baseline concentration problems (OR=8.98, p <.001, 95% CI [2.55, 31.57]). Parents in the experimental condition attended more sessions than did those in the control condition if their children had high baseline concentration problems (p <.01, d=49, 95% CI [.35, 2.26]) or conduct problems (p <.01, d =.54, 95% CI [.51, 2.56]). Highly acculturated parents attended more sessions if assigned to the experimental condition than the control condition (p <.01, d =.66, 95% CI [.28, 2.57]). Conclusions: The motivational engagement package increased parenting program initiation and attendance for parents of students at-risk for behavior problems.