Brotman, L. M., Calzada, E., Huang, K. -Y., Kingston, S., Dawson‐McClure, S., Kamboukos, D., Rosenfelt, A, Schwab, A., & Petkova, E. (2011). Promoting effective parenting practices and preventing child behavior problems in school among ethnically diverse families from underserved, urban communities. Child Development, 82(1), 258–276. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01554.x

Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial
Number of Participants: 171 families

Population:

• Age — Caregivers: Mean=33.8 years; Children: Mean=4.14 years
• Race/Ethnicity — Children: 39% Non-Latino Black (20% Afro Caribbean and 19% African American), 24% Latino, 13% White, 12% Asian, and 12% Mixed Race/Ethnicity
• Gender — Caregivers: 89% Female and 11% Male; Children: 56% Female
• Status — Participants were low-income minority children living in urban neighborhoods enrolled in prekindergarten.

Location/Institution: Eight public schools in one community school district in New York City

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The purpose of the study was to examine the efficacy of ParentCorps on effective parenting practices and child behavior problems in the Pre-K year. Participant schools were randomly assigned to either the ParentCorps intervention or control condition. Measures utilized include the Parenting Practices Interview (PPI), the Effective Practices Test (EPT), the Global Impressions of Parent Child Interactions–Revised (GIPCI–R), the Behavior Assessment System for Children–Preschool Version (BASC), the New York Rating Scale (NYRS), the Involvement Questionnaire (INVOLVE–T), and the Developmental Indicators for the Assessment of Learning–3 (Speed DIAL–3). Results indicate that ParentCorps resulted in significant benefits on effective parenting practices and teacher ratings of child behavior problems in school. ParentCorps effects were of similar magnitude for families at different levels of risk and for Black and Latino families. The number of sessions attended was related to improvements in parenting. Limitations include the relatively small sample size, and low power to detect small effects once the nested nature of the data was taken into account; missing data on the observed measure of effective parenting practices; and the inability to generalize findings to the entire Pre-K population.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: None.

Dawson-McClure, S. R., Calzada, E. J., Huang, K. -Y., Kamboukos, D., Rhule, D., Kolawole, B., Petkova, E., & Brotman, L. M. (2014). A population-level approach to promoting healthy child development and school success in low-income, urban neighborhoods: Impact on parenting and child conduct problems. Prevention Science, 16(2), 279–290. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-014-0473-3

Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial
Number of Participants: 1,050

Population:

• Age — Caregivers: Mean=33.9 years; Children: Mean=4.15 years
• Race/Ethnicity — Caregivers: 85% Non-Latino Black (Afro Caribbean and African American), 10% Latino, and 5% Mixed or Other Race/Ethnicities
• Gender — Caregivers: 88% Female; Children: 532 Female and 518 Male
• Status — Participants were low-income minority children living in urban neighborhoods enrolled in prekindergarten.

Location/Institution: Ten schools in two school districts in highly disadvantaged urban neighborhoods in New York City (NYC)

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The purpose of the study was to evaluate ParentCorps on parenting (e.g., knowledge, positive behavior support, behavior management, involvement in early learning) and child conduct problems over a 2-year period (end of kindergarten). Participant schools were randomly assigned to intervention (ParentCorps) or a “pre-kindergarten education as usual” control condition. Measures utilized include the Parenting Practices Interview (PPI), the Effective Practices Test (EPT), the Involve Interview, the Parent Perceptions of Parent Efficacy (PPPE), and the New York Rating Scale (NYRS). Results indicate that intervention effects were found for ParentCorps on knowledge, positive behavior support, and teacher-rated parent involvement in early learning. For the highest-risk families, ParentCorps also resulted in increased parent-rated involvement in early learning and decreased harsh and inconsistent behavior management. Among boys at high risk for problems based on baseline behavioral dysregulation, ParentCorps led to lower rates of conduct problems through the end of kindergarten (age 6). Family-centered intervention at the transition to school has potential to improve population health and break the cycle of disadvantage for low-income, minority families. Limitations include the number of randomization units (schools) was small, increasing the potential for Type 1 error; reliance on self-reported measures; unable to completely eliminate the possibility of sample selection bias; only 10% of the sample was Latino; and non-English speakers were excluded from the trial.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: 2 years.

Brotman, L. M., Dawson-McClure, S., Kamboukos, D., Huang, K. -Y., Calzada, E. J., Goldfeld, K., & Petkova, E. (2016). Effects of ParentCorps in prekindergarten on child mental health and academic performance: Follow-up of a randomized clinical trial through 8 years of age. JAMA Pediatrics, 170(12), 1149–1155. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2016.1891

Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial
Number of Participants: 1,050

Population:

• Age — Caregivers: Mean=33.9 years; Children: Mean=4.15 years
• Race/Ethnicity — Caregivers: 85% Non-Latino Black (Afro Caribbean and African American), 10% Latino, and 5% Mixed or Other Race/Ethnicities
• Gender — Caregivers: 88% Female; Children: 532 Female and 518 Male
• Status — Participants were low-income minority children living in urban neighborhoods enrolled in prekindergarten.

Location/Institution: Ten schools in two school districts in New York City

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The purpose of the study was to examine whether ParentCorps delivered as an enhancement to prekindergarten programs in high-poverty urban schools lead to fewer mental health problems and increased academic performance in the early elementary school years. Participant schools were matched on size and split into pairs. Within each pair, one school was randomly assigned to the intervention (ParentCorps) and the other to the control. Measures utilized include the Behavior Assessment System for Children, Second Edition, the Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement (KTEA) Brief Form, Second Edition, and the Speed Developmental Indicators for the Assessment of Learning (DIAL). Results indicate that relative to their peers in pre-kindergarten programs, children in ParentCorps-enhanced pre-kindergarten programs had lower levels of mental health problems and higher teacher-rated academic performance in second grade. Limitations include that the trial included a relatively small number of schools; although there was no evidence that children who left study schools were different from those who remained, they may have differed on unmeasured characteristics; despite randomization, the conditions differed with respect to baseline teacher ratings, which makes comparison between conditions more difficult; it is possible that teacher ratings were biased; and although careful examination of family participation revealed that a broad range of factors was not associated with dose (e.g., parental depression, ethnicity, and child school readiness), unmeasured characteristics may be.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: 3 years.