Cowen, P. S. (2001). Effectiveness of a parent education intervention for at-risk families. Journal of the Society of Pediatric Nursing, 6(2), 73–82. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6155.2001.tb00124.x

Type of Study: One-group pretest–posttest study
Number of Participants: 154 families

Population:

• Age — Not specified
• Race/Ethnicity — 92% White
• Gender — Not specified
• Status — Participants were self-referred families, families in crisis, and families court-referred for mandatory attendance.

Location/Institution: National Committee for the Prevention of Child Abuse, Iowa Chapter

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The purpose of the study was to examine parents attending the Nurturing Parenting Program [now called Nurturing Parenting Program for Parents and their School-age Children 5 to 11 Years]. Measures utilized include the Adult-Adolescent Parenting Inventory, which is designed to measure attitudes about childrearing practices. Results indicate that posttest scores showed statistically significant improvements in inappropriate expectations, low empathy, strong belief in value of punishment, and role reversal. Limitations include lack of a control group, a substantial percentage of available families did not fully participate or provided incomplete data, and lack of follow-up.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: None.

Devall, E. L. (2004). Positive parenting for high-risk families. Journal of Family and Consumer Sciences, 96(4), 22–28. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ736889

Type of Study: One-group pretest–posttest study
Number of Participants: 323 parents

Population:

• Age — 14–70 years (Mean=27 years)
• Race/Ethnicity — 60% Hispanic, 21% European American, 10% Native American, 4% African American, and 3% Asian American or Other
• Gender — 40% Male
• Status — Participants were at-risk families, including teen parents, unmarried parents, single or divorce parents, foster parents, parents referred by social services, families with substance abuse issues, and incarcerated parents.

Location/Institution: New Mexico

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The purpose of the study was to evaluate the efficacy of the Nurturing Parenting Program [now called Nurturing Parenting Program for Parents and their School-age Children 5 to 11 Years] offered in schools, community centers, public health offices, family resource centers and in prisons for incarcerated parents. Measures utilized include the Adult-Adolescent Parenting Inventory, the Nurturing Quiz, and the Family Social History Questionnaire. Results indicate improvement on inappropriate expectations, empathy, belief in corporal punishment, and role-reversal. Scores on the Nurturing Quiz also improved significantly. Limitations include lack of a control group, low rates of completion for the entire curriculum, and lack of follow-up.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: None.

Matthew, R. F., Wang, M. Q., Bellamy, N., & Copeland, E. (2005). Test of efficacy of model family strengthening programs. American Journal of Health Studies, 20(3/4), 164–170. https://www.proquest.com/openview/1be1a4f0e20b0c425ed4db817c0c15c9/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=30166

Type of Study: Pretest–posttest study with a nonequivalent control group (Quasi-experimental)
Number of Participants: 1080

Population:

• Age — Parents: Not specified; Children: Mean=11 years
• Race/Ethnicity — Not specified
• Gender — Children: Not specified; Parents: 74% Female and 17% Male
• Status — Participants were from Family Strengthening Initiative funded by the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP).

Location/Institution: Not Specified

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The purpose of the study was to evaluate the efficacy of Strengthening Multi-Ethnic Families & Communities, Parenting Wisely, Strengthening Families Program, and the Nurturing Parenting Program [now called Nurturing Program for Parents and their School-age Children 5 to 11 Years]. Data was obtained from a total of thirty-two funded study sites that implemented an evidence-based model program. However, only program sites that adopted one of the aforementioned four model programs were included in data analyses. Measures utilized include the Family Environment Scale (FES) Form R. Results indicate that there were differential effects of these model programs. For family attachment and family cohesion, the Nurturing Parenting Program appeared to be the most effective among all the model programs. Limitations include lack of control group and lack of follow-up.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: None.

Vespo, J. E., Capece, D., & Behforooz, B. (2006). Effects of the nurturing curriculum on social, emotional, and academic behaviors in kindergarten classrooms. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 20(4). 275–285. https://doi.org/10.1080/02568540609594567

Type of Study: Pretest–posttest study with a nonequivalent control group (Quasi-experimental)
Number of Participants: 143 (135 children and 8 adults)

Population:

• Age — Children - Kindergartners(approximately age 4-6 years)
• Race/Ethnicity — Children (Intervention School 1 and Intervention School 2): 57% and 54% White; 31% and 29% African American; 11% and 12% Hispanic; and 3% and 5% Asian.
• Gender — Children - 75 Females and 65 Males
• Status — Participants were children and teachers from an inner city school district.

Location/Institution: Northeastern United States

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The purpose of the study was to evaluate the efficacy of the Nurturing Parenting Program [now called Nurturing Parenting Program for Parents and their School-age Children 5 to 11 Years] on children in kindergarten classrooms. Kindergarten teachers at two selected school sites were trained in the Nurturing Parenting Program. Children in the targeted classes were compared to 14 children who attended the same school in the year prior to the study. Measures utilized include the Teacher Checklist of Social Behavior. Results indicate that the Nurturing Parenting Program curriculum was associated with improvement in social and emotional behaviors. Limitations include the limited nature of the control group, nonrandomization of school or teachers to the intervention, small sample size, and lack of follow-up. Note: Since the study did not involve any intervention with parents, this study was not used in rating for the Parent Training topic area.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: None.

Brock, D. J. P., Marek, L. I., Kerney, C. M., & Bagby, T. (2013). Open groups: Adaptations in implementing a parent training program. Health Promotion Perspectives, 3(2), 230–241. https://doi.org/10.5681/hpp.2013.026

Type of Study: Pretest–posttest study with a nonequivalent control group (Quasi-experimental)
Number of Participants: 225 enrolled; 129 completed at least 80% of the offered sessions and were used in the analyses

Population:

• Age — 13–50+ years
• Race/Ethnicity — 75% Caucasian, 22% African-American, 2% Hispanic, and 1% Other
• Gender — 69% Female
• Status — Participants for both formats were recruited through advertising in local newspapers and radio stations, flyers distributed to public places, and brochures and class information distributed at various community agencies/organizations.

Location/Institution: Virginia

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The purpose of the study was to evaluate the efficacy of the Nurturing Parenting Program [now called Nurturing Parenting Program for Parents and their School-age Children 5 to 11 Years] in two different formats, the typical closed-group format, or an open-group format that allowed for on-going admission. Participants were recruited through similar means and the format placement for each family was determined by the immediacy of the need for an intervention, the time lapse until a new cycle would begin, and scheduling flexibility. Measures utilized include the Adult Adolescent Parenting Inventory-version 2 (AAPI-2). Results indicate that though open groups contained higher risk families, parental outcome improvements were significant for both groups. All participants, regardless of group membership demonstrated statistically significant improvements following completion of the program. There were significant differences found in terms of retention rates, with open group members being significantly less likely to complete the sessions (44% versus 76% in the closed group). Limitations include the differences between the two groups at baseline, differences between the intervention delivered in the two groups (the open-group format did not include the child component of the program, while the closed-group format did), high attrition rates in the open-group sample, and lack of follow-up.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: None.

Kelley, S. J., Whitley, D. M., & Campos, P. E. (2019). Differential impact of an Intervention for grandmothers raising grandchildren. Journal of Intergenerational Relationships, 17(2), 141–162. https://doi.org/10.1080/15350770.2018.1535351

Type of Study: One-group pretest–posttest study
Number of Participants: 549

Population:

• Age — 33–83 years (Mean=56.27 years)
• Race/Ethnicity — 100% African American
• Gender — 100% Female
• Status — Participants were predominantly low-income grandmothers raising grandchildren.

Location/Institution: Virginia

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The purpose of the study was to determine the efficacy of the Nurturing Parenting Program for Parents and their School-age Children 5 to 11 Years to decrease psychological distress in caregiving grandmothers, as well as to determine if select demographic characteristics influence intervention outcomes. Participants were recruited through similar means and the format placement for each family was determined by the immediacy of the need for an intervention, the time lapse until a new cycle would begin, and scheduling flexibility. Measures utilized include the Brief symptom inventory (BSI). Results indicate that psychological distress scores decreased significantly from pretest to posttest. The intervention appears to have benefited distressed grandmothers who are young, unmarried, or unemployed. Limitations include lack of generalizability due to ethnicity of participants, lack of comparison group, and lack of follow-up.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: None.