Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2009. / Additional advisors: Aaron Kuntz, Aaron Moyana, Andrew McKnight, William Boyd Rogan. Description based on contents viewed June 5, 2009; title from PDF t.p. Includes bibliographical references (p. 212-228).

This study examined the effectiveness of training low income Black American parents in child parent relationship therapy (CPRT). In response to the cultural values and challenges faced by low income Black American parents, the CPRT manual was adapted slightly for use with parents for this study. In this quasi-experimental design, 14 parents were assigned to the experimental group and 13 parents were assigned to the no treatment control group. Six hypotheses were analyzed. Different analyses were conducted based on the hypotheses. A two-factor repeated measures analysis of variance and analysis of covariance were conducted to determine if the CPRT treatment and the no treatment control group performed differently across time according to pretest and posttest results of the Child Behavior Checklist - Parent Version (CBCL) and the Parenting Stress Index (PSI). Additionally, partial η2 was calculated to determine practical significance. Five hypotheses were retained at the .025 level of significance. Findings indicated that parents who participated in the CPRT training reported a statistically significant decrease in parent-child relationship stress. Specifically, parents assigned to the experimental group demonstrated a statistically significant decrease in Child Domain (p < .001), Parent Domain (p < .001), and Total Stress (p < .001) of the PSI when compared to parents assigned to the no treatment control group. Similarly, results indicated that parents assigned to the experimental group reported statistically significant improvements in Total Problems (p < .01) and Externalizing Problems (p = .001) of the CBCL, when compared to parents assigned to the no treatment control group. No statistical significant results were found on Internalizing Problems.

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Parental engagement with schools is often considered one of the major contributing factors to a child’s success in school. There is not, however, a definition of parental engagement that takes into account the social, historical, and cultural factors that shape a parent’s view of their own engagement. This qualitative case study examines how African American parents in a high poverty, urban, charter middle school, come to understand practices and beliefs at their child’s school, while building relationships with other parents and school staff. Through the lenses of critical race theory and cultural-historical activity theory, the researcher analyzes how the convergence of race, power, history, and culture frame perspectives of policy makers, those who work in schools, and parents. Through the voices of African American parents, in a socioeconomically disadvantaged school community, they define their own engagement.

This exploratory study investigates how American and Canadian parents living in Saudi Arabia perceive enrolling their children in an online virtual school. This research is relevant to North Americans living and working overseas and how these parents access educational opportunities for their children. North American parents living in Saudi Arabia with children have limited local educational options. If parents decided not to enroll their child in traditional private local international education, alternatives include boarding school, homeschool, or online school. Of the surveyed participants, 68% of parents had enrolled their children in online education or expressed interest in enrolling their children in online education but many lack information and knowledge about online education. A qualitative study analyzed participants in semi-structured interviews. Besides academic satisfaction, the most common reasons for alternative education are the lack of available competitive sports and the arts, including theatre and music. Four themes emerged from the data. Parent satisfaction about their children's education shifts from positive to negative around 8th or 9th grade. Parents are, in general, unwilling to take a risk on an unproven online school. Local private international schools are the focal point of extra-curricular activities and social events, but families lack connections and a supportive environment within the local Saudi Arabian community. Overall, parents do view full-time online education as a viable option for K-12 education; however, perhaps not for their children. Though standalone online classes, within a traditional face-to-face school, was received positively by many families.

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No description available.

Acculturation, defined as the process of adopting the behaviors and beliefs of the dominant host culture, is often associated with dietary change and negative health outcomes, such as increased risk for obesity and diet-related diseases. The large and rising immigrant population in the U.S. necessitates a better understanding of the acculturation process in order to design appropriate health and nutrition interventions. It is well established that parents play a key role in child and preadolescent nutrition through parenting style and control of the home food environment. However, little is known about the potential influence of parental acculturation on preadolescent children's dietary patterns and habits, frequency and characteristics of family meals, and parent child-feeding behaviors, particularly among families who have lived in the U.S. for a considerable time and whose children have grown up in the U.S. The objective of this study was to quantitatively examine the association between parental acculturation and parent child-feeding behaviors, family meals, and child dietary patterns and habits in families where the primary food-providing parent self-identified as Asian/Asian American ("Asian") or Hispanic/Latino ("Hispanic"). Nativity was used as a proxy measure of acculturation, with foreign-born (FB) parents assumed to be less acculturated than native-born (NB). Sampled participants from nine states consisted of 74 Asian and 134 Hispanic parents or caretakers and their preadolescent children. Survey questions addressed children's intake of foods considered typical of the American diet to determine associations between frequency of consumption and parental nativity. Parent child-feeding behaviors examined were parental encouragement of milk-drinking and breakfast consumption, and discouragement of soda-drinking. Lastly, associations between frequent family meals and meals away from home and parental nativity were examined. Among Asian participants, no statistically significant associations were found between child intakes, family meals, or parenting behaviors among NB versus FB parents. However, among the Hispanic group, parental nativity was significantly associated with several variables. Children of NB parents were more likely to frequently consume hamburgers or hot dogs with cheese, chocolate bars, cupcakes or cake, and soda. By contrast, children of FB parents were more likely to consume raw broccoli and pancakes, waffles, or French toast frequently. NB parents had greater odds of encouraging children’s milk intake at lunch. Families with NB parents also had significantly greater odds of consuming dinner together five or more days per week. The findings of this study suggest that parental nativity may have some influence on children's dietary patterns and habits, parent child-feeding behaviors, and family meals among Hispanics. More research is needed in larger, more representative, and culturally specific samples. The results of this study suggest that nutrition interventions targeting Asian and Hispanic families with preadolescent children may benefit families with a wide range of parental acculturation, although some interventions may be slightly more applicable to the more or less acculturated. Potential areas for intervention include coaching parents on effective child-feeding behaviors and strategies for fostering healthy eating practices, promoting quality family meals, and educating parents on the health risks and sources of excess sugar. / Graduation date: 2012

The purpose of this study is to obtain a profile of San Bernardino Latino foster emancipated youth regarding their positive and challenging experiences. The focus is on emancipated youth and immigrant acculturation. The study examined the kinds of programs and factors that have had the most success in enabling foster youth to become independent adults.

Abstract Domestic minor sex trafficking in the United States is a human rights issue and social problem affecting over 300,000 children ages 12-17, 43% of whom are African American girls. This survey was an exploration of domestic minor sex trafficking knowledge among African American parents and their protective strategies to prevent victimization. Ecological systems theory provided a conceptual framework to examine the environmental factors shaping parental knowledge. The sample consisted of 2 Southern California African American churches (n = 38, n = 32) that served different socioeconomic groups. The African American Sex Trafficking Knowledge survey was researcher designed and pretested by 7 police colleagues. The qualitative data analysis provided sample demographic specifics and associated themes on their knowledge and strategy. Both had basic information about minor sex trafficking, but were unaware of its presence in their communities or the availability of local resources, if needed. Parents believed their children became insulated from victimization because they engaged in protective measures. The social change implications included building and coordinating resources in African American communities with the goal of reducing the high victimization rate of African American children. African American churches as family resource centers could facilitate meaningful parent-child dialogues about sex trafficking. This partnership could initiate innovative preventive programs with community organizations. The outcome could be a model for creating effective culturally-sensitive prevention programs for not only African American families, but also other vulnerable groups.