Two studies investigated the characteristics of high-risk Hispanic parents with young children who were enrolled in a primary prevention home visitation program targeting first birth families. In the first study, more and less acculturated high-risk Hispanic families were compared to high-risk non-Hispanic White families on differences in demographic characteristics, risk factors associated with poor child outcomes, and parent behaviors related to infant health. Using the General Linear Model Univariate procedure, these characteristics were then related to level of parenting skills, measured after approximately one year of service. A total of 1005 families were included in the study. There were important differences in parent psychosocial characteristics, health risks, and outcomes among Hispanic families. Hispanic mothers who were more acculturated, as measured by use of English in the home, were more likely to be at risk for substance abuse, mental illness, and family conflict. They were more likely to smoke and less likely to breastfeed. Less acculturated Hispanic mothers were less educated and more likely to be isolated. Controlling for pretest scores and education level, there were significant between group differences on parenting skills after one year of service, however the effect was small and overshadowed by the significant interaction effect between partner status and household category. Scores for single Spanish-speaking Hispanic mothers were significantly lower than scores of Spanish-speaking Hispanics in partner households. Risk factors that were positively associated with program progress included breastfeeding and mother's education level. Smoking, mental illness, and unrealistic expectations for the child were negatively associated with program progress. The second paper addressed the efficacy of an age-paced parenting newsletter as part of a home-visiting program for Spanish-speaking Hispanic parents. Family Service Workers serving these families delivered the newsletter and used it as a curriculum guide and teaching tool for families. Parents reported reading the newsletter, learning from it, and changing their behavior in response to newsletter content. Home visitors reported that it was a useful tool to reach high-risk parents with important parenting information. They found that it was particularly useful to combat inappropriate or unhealthful parenting advice from well-meaning family members and friends. / Graduation date: 2004

This study explored parent perspectives about their participation in a federal TRIO pre-college program. Specifically, parents were asked to identify the program elements that encouraged and supported their participation in the college-going process of their child in a TRIO pre-college program. Forty parents of low-income, first generation TRIO students were purposefully selected for this study because they had participated in the parent component and because their child had enrolled in college within a year of high school graduation. Q methodology was used for this study because it is designed to address the subjective first person viewpoint. In this Q study, the forty parents were asked to sort 33 value statements according to what was most like their perspective and least like their perspective, with regard to the program elements that encouraged and supported their participation. The 33 statements were derived from the current research on parental involvement and a parent survey to produce the Q-sort. Parents were also asked to explain why they sorted the statements holding the highest and lowest positions, as they did. Subsequently, the parents identified five particular program elements that encouraged and supported their involvement in the college-going process. These factors were named: (a) A sense of community ”village”, (b) A sense of shared accountability and increased parental self-efficacy (c) A sense of the parent and student increasing social capital, (d) A sense of program relevance and (e) A sense of having highly committed program staff. The research findings have implications for program development, program practices, and staff training. Recommendations for future research have been included.

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Using a phenomenological approach, this qualitative study examined the perspectives of Latino parents and their involvement in the decision of their child to enroll in an advanced mathematics course in sixth grade. Since enrollment in Algebra I in high school is said to be a strong predictor of college attainment and with the growing number of Latino students across the nation, this study has the potential to help district and campus leaders establish whole-school systems for communicating with Latino parents to encourage their children to enroll in advanced mathematics courses at earlier grades. Participants in this study included four sixth-grade students enrolled in an advanced mathematics course, four enrolled in regular mathematics, their mother or father, two mathematics teachers, a school counselor, and two district administrators. Data analyzed included audio recordings of semi-structured interviews of each of the participants. The findings suggested that the district has proactively developed a systematic process of creating that includes six data points to create a student profile of students that will do well in advanced mathematics. This process is helping the district close the gap between total Latino school enrollment and the enrollment of Latino students in advanced mathematics. The findings also suggested that specific communication with parents about the importance of enrollment trajectories might influence the enrollment of students into advanced mathematics courses at earlier grades.