COMO ME HAN ENSEÑADO*: A LOOK AT THE EFFECTIVENESS OF PARENTING INTERVENTIONS FOR USE WITH LATINO FAMILIES

Abstract

Latino families are an important demographic in the United States yet have been historically left out in family-based intervention literature. Family based interventions that practice cultural alignment (the practice of incorporating the cultural beliefs of participating families) may help Latino caregivers reach beneficial parenting outcomes. Researchers have increased the cultural alignment of parenting interventions in two primary ways: a) cultural adaptation and b) individualization. Cultural adaptation is the systematic modification of an intervention to become more compatible with a target population’s cultural beliefs. These modifications can be either surface-level (basic changes to format, e.g. translation of language, culturally-appropriate images) or deep-level (e.g. material changes that alter or expand conceptual features, e.g. adding modules specific to a cultural view). Individualization is a means of achieving cultural alignment by tailoring the intervention to specific characteristics of the participant. Examples of methods used by highly individualized intervention are strengths-based, child-centered, and video-feedback approaches. Highly individualized interventions may achieve similar beneficial outcomes for Latino families to those with deep-level cultural adaptations, while requiring fewer resources for development. The Filming Interactions to Nurture 3 Development (FIND) intervention may be effective within the Latino community since it is: a) highly individualized, b) emphasizes child-centered approaches, and c) utilizes a surface-level cultural adaptation. The present study employed a novel video coding protocol to determine the effects of FIND on Latino caregivers’ supportive parenting behaviors over time. It was found that FIND could change Latino parenting behaviors over time.