A Qualitative Evaluation of Parenting to Support Early Development among Spanish-Speaking Legacy for Children™ Participants

Abstract

Legacy for Children™ is a group-based parenting intervention that has been culturally adapted for Spanish-speaking mothers (Legacy Spanish). In the current study, we used qualitative methods to examine how Legacy Spanish informed parenting knowledge and practices related to early development. Fourteen low-income Spanish-speaking Latina mothers of children aged 21–31 months participated in focus groups that explored their experience in Legacy Spanish. A template analysis procedure was used to analyze focus group transcripts and identify themes. We identified five primary themes and two secondary themes. Mothers described gaining new knowledge about parenting and child development from Legacy Spanish and attributed positive changes in their parenting and self-efficacy to the program. Reported changes included use of more sensitive behavioral management strategies, increased maternal investment of time and energy, and improved mother-child communication. Mothers also attributed changes in their child’s cognitive and socioemotional development to Legacy Spanish, perceived long-term benefits of program participation, and shared lessons learned from Legacy Spanish with their social network. Additionally, mothers noted that Legacy Spanish provided a unique opportunity for one-to-one time with their child. To provide additional context for the focus group data, we present scores on an observational measure of parent-child interactions. Mean scores in the Affection, Responsiveness, and Teaching domains, which measure behaviors discussed in the focus groups, fell in the average score range. Together, these findings demonstrate that a culturally adapted parenting intervention has the potential to support nurturing parent-child relationships among low-income Spanish-speaking Latino families.