An Evaluation of Building Our Nation's Daughters (BOND): Improving Black Single Mother-Daughter Relationships and Well-Being.

Abstract

Although single mothers report being most concerned about financial costs, the needs of these mothers and their children are more extensive. The current study evaluated a program for Black single mothers with adolescent daughters that emphasized the mother-daughter relationship and coping skills to promote well-being. The program is Building Our Nation’s Daughters (BOND). Individual interviews were conducted with five mothers and five daughters who had participated in BOND. Interviews were conducted online during the COVID-19 pandemic. Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed to allow for coding and analysis of qualitative data. Mothers and daughters also verbally provided numeric outcome ratings specific to select outcomes. Mother and daughter well-being improved based both on self-report and report of the other member of the dyad (i.e., mother for daughter, daughter for mother). Results suggest programs like BOND have the capacity to improve mood and strengthen the mother-daughter relationship through development of coping skills and conflict resolution skills. The evaluated program improved mother and daughter well-being in part through skills building, but importantly through improvement in the mother-daughter relationship, as well. BOND could be used as a template for similarly situated families. For example, the program could be modified to address the needs of single father households and single caregiver households with adolescent boys.