American Parents Research Articles

Reaching American Indian Parents Through Online Divorce Education

Evaluative research on the effectiveness of divorce education continues to grow, but research is still limited on programmatic impacts for historically underserved groups. Using a mixed-methods design, this study analyzed data from divorcing American Indian parents ( n = 153) who took part in a court-mandated, online divorce education program. The study examined participants’ reasons for divorce, understanding of divorce and coparenting plans, and participant experiences in the course. Quantitative analyses revealed that mothers reported more problems than fathers in terms of what influenced their decision to divorce, which included emotional, psychological, and verbal mistreatment, childrearing differences, extended family issues, and physical violence. Both mothers and fathers demonstrated an improved understanding of divorce-related topics and positive coparenting practices. Qualitative analyses demonstrated parallels with quantitative analyses, as an increased awareness of the effects of divorce on children was most frequently mentioned as the greatest benefit to participation. Participants also noted their appreciation for the program's online content and delivery method, while acknowledging how the program helped them learn more about coparenting. Implications for facilitating divorce education programs with American Indian parents are discussed.

Parental Perceptions of Access to and Utilization of Services for Autistic Children in African American Families: An Exploratory Study.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) occurs within all racial, ethnic, and demographic pediatric groups. However, Black children with ASD are diagnosed at later stages of their development, and as a result may not receive or may age out of early intervention services, and demonstrate poorer long-term outcomes, across a range of factors. African American parent's perceptions regarding access to and utilization of healthcare services for their autistic children vary. Research examining autism spectrum disorder and parental perceptions of service utilization among African American (AA) families is limited. This qualitative study aimed to understand the challenges African American parents face when initiating healthcare services for their autistic children. Eleven AA mothers of autistic children participated in individual semi-structured interviews. Six themes related to pediatric treatment needs, interactions with providers, and parents' roles as experts and advocates were generated. Implications for pediatric treatment needs of autistic children and areas of opportunity for providers working with AA autistic children are discussed.

Understanding HPV Vaccine Initiation and Intention Among Central American Immigrant Parents in the United States: The Role of Vaccine Literacy and Healthcare Provider Recommendations

Background/Objectives: The HPV vaccine is key to preventing HPV-related cancers, yet vaccination rates are low, particularly among immigrant and ethnic minority groups. This study explored factors influencing HPV vaccine uptake and intention among Central American immigrant parents in the U.S. Methods: A cross-sectional study with parents of children aged 11 to 17 years. Results: Among the 168 parents (53.8% mothers, 46.2% fathers) in this study, 20% reported that their children had initiated the HPV vaccine and 23% of unvaccinated children intended to vaccinate within the next 12 months. Sociodemographic factors, including the parent’s gender and length of U.S. residence, were significant predictors of HPV vaccine initiation and intention. Higher vaccine literacy was also a key factor, with more literate parents being more likely to initiate vaccination and express intent to vaccinate. HCP communication strongly predicted both vaccine initiation and intention, yet fewer than 30% of parents received HPV vaccine information, and less than 28% received a recommendation from a HCP. In the multiple logistic regression analysis, receiving HPV vaccine information from a HCP was the strongest predictor of vaccine initiation (AOR = 93.23, 95% CI = 14.50–599.63, p < 0.001), adjusting for other variables. For vaccination intention, significant predictors included the length of U.S. residence (AOR = 0.84, 95% CI = 0.75–0.95, p < 0.01), having a U.S.-born child (AOR = 10.47, 95% CI = 1.51–72.68, p < 0.05), and receiving a HCP recommendation (AOR = 14.73, 95% CI = 1.77–122.32, p < 0.05). Conclusions: To improve vaccination rates, interventions should enhance HCP training, strengthen provider–patient communication, and address vaccine literacy, through culturally tailored strategies and community engagement.

Asian American Parenting and Youth Mental Health Outcomes: A Literature Review

ABSTRACTContrary to the “model minority” stereotype of being exceptionally healthy and successful, Asian American (AA) youth experience mental health disparities and are less likely to seek help. In 2020, suicide was the leading cause of death for AA youth aged 10–19. Parenting is essential for promoting youth mental health, and AA parenting is unique in the context of acculturation and enculturation. However, the impact of parenting on youth mental health among AA families remains underexplored and unsynthesized. This review aims to synthesize existing literature from 2003 onward on parenting and mental health outcomes among AA youth. Four databases were searched, yielding 44 articles published after 2003 for inclusion. Empirical studies meeting the following criteria were included: population focused on AA youth, study conducted in the U.S., included a mental health outcome, and included a parenting measure. Findings emphasize the importance of parenting in shaping the mental health outcomes of AA youth. Intergenerational acculturation gaps and family conflicts are associated with increased mental health risks, while parental warmth/support and family cohesion serve as protective factors. These findings highlight the need for culturally tailored parenting interventions to improve AA youth mental health. Future research should evaluate or adapt existing evidence‐based parenting programs to ensure cultural appropriateness and effectiveness in improving mental health of AA youth, ultimately reducing mental health disparities.

Passing the Torch: The Mediating Role of Internalization in the Intergenerational Continuity of Catholic Religious Value Transmission in American Parents

Despite extensive research on the intergenerational transmission of values, the continuity of parenting practices and underlying cognitive processes of transmission have received relatively little attention. We explored the mediating role of introjected and identified internalization on the intergenerational continuity of four parenting practices related to religion (assurance, disapproval/punishment, social involvement, and encouraged skepticism). We focused on Catholicism as an important test case based on its distinctive components amongst other Christian denominations. In addition to responding to items that measured religious value internalization, 279 community members from the United States were asked to reflect on their parents' use of four religious parenting practices during their childhood, as well as the current practices they are employing with their own children. Respondents' recollections of their parents' religious parenting practices significantly predicted their own current religious parenting practices. Whereas these associations were significantly mediated through identified internalization for all four practices, only the associations between past and current social involvement and disapproval/punishment were also mediated through introjected internalization. Recollection of parenting practices predict adult children's implementation of the same practices with their own children through their level of internalization of their parents' beliefs. Importantly, the efficacy of different types of internalization appears to depend on the specific nature of the behavior to be maintained.

Exploring Trusted Sources of HPV Vaccine Information Among Mexican American Parents in El Paso, Texas.

Hispanic populations are disproportionately impacted by HPV-associated cancers. An HPV vaccine is available that protects against 90% of HPV-associated cancers. Understanding the factors associated with HPV vaccine uptake, including identifying whom individuals trust to recommend the HPV vaccine, is an important step toward developing public health interventions for promoting the HPV vaccine among Hispanic people. The purpose of this pilot study was to use a qualitative approach to identify trustworthy messengers to disseminate HPV vaccine information among Mexican American (MA) parents of children of 11-17 years of age. Three 90 min pilot focus groups with three to five participants in each group were conducted. The inclusion criteria included being 18 years of age or older, residing in El Paso, TX, identifying as MA, speaking English, and being a parent of a child between the ages of 11 and 17. Focus groups were conducted with 15 predominately female participants (Mage = 38.46, SD = 5.73; Female = 93.3%). A reoccurring theme throughout all three focus groups was that pediatricians, registered nurses, and pharmacists were identified as the most trusted sources of information. Findings from this study have implications for designing public health interventions that leverage pediatricians, registered nurses, and pharmacists to promote the HPV vaccine among parents.

Parent and Youth Interventions for Chinese American Families to Address COVID-19 Related Discrimination and Promote Youth Mental Health

Asian American youth experienced high levels of discrimination during COVID-19, which negatively impacted their mental health. To address discrimination and promote youth mental health, we developed a novel and culturally sensitive virtual intervention involving both Chinese American parents and youth through collaboration with local Chinese language schools and community organizations. The parent component was based on Parent-Child Connect, a culturally sensitive parenting program for Chinese American parents. The youth program was culturally adapted based on the Strong Kids curriculum. Ninety-one Chinese immigrant parents (Mage = 47.64; SDage = 5.51) and 62 Chinese American youth (Mage = 12.71; SDage = 1.65) participated in the intervention between 2021 and 2023. Retention rates were high: about 82% of parents and youth completed the intervention and post surveys. Results suggest the intervention was effective in promoting positive parenting behaviors (autonomy granting, parental warmth), reducing negative parenting behaviors (verbal hostility, punitive parenting, shaming, directiveness), and improving parental sense of competence, parent-child communication, and parent self-efficacy to support youth during discrimination. Youth also reported significantly greater social and emotional learning knowledge and resilience, increased positive coping, emotional regulation, and mental health. Findings contribute to the limited literature on culturally adapting interventions for Chinese American youth and parents. Impact Statement This is one of the first culturally responsive mental health program involving both Chinese American parents and youth to address discrimination and youth mental health challenges. Findings contribute to the limited literature on how to collaborate with schools and communities to culturally adapt interventions for Chinese American youth and their parents.

Competency matters: Chinese American parents’ racial socialization and adolescents’ well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Competency matters: Chinese American parents’ racial socialization and adolescents’ well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Becoming civically engaged adolescents: Individual and parenting mechanisms in Chinese American families.

To understand processes contributing to Chinese American adolescents' civic engagement, our study examined: (a) the mediating role of Chinese American adolescents' ethnic identity resolution in the associations between their parents' cultural socialization and their own civic engagement (i.e., political participation and civil participation), (b) the moderating role of parents' racial socialization competency in the association between parents' cultural socialization and adolescents' ethnic identity resolution, and (c) the moderating role of adolescents' behavioral acculturation toward American culture in the associations between adolescents' ethnic identity resolution and civic engagement. Participants included 303 Chinese American adolescents aged 10-18 years old (Mage = 14.1, SD = 2.2; 50% girls) and their parents (Mage = 44.1 years, SD = 6.0; 78% mothers). Chinese American parents' cultural socialization was positively related to their adolescents' ethnic identity resolution, which in turn contributed to adolescents' greater political participation and civil participation. The positive association between parents' cultural socialization and adolescents' ethnic identity resolution was further strengthened by parents' greater racial socialization competency. Moreover, a complex moderating effect of adolescents' behavioral participation in American society was revealed, in which adolescents' ethnic identity resolution was significantly associated with greater political participation only when they also had high levels of behavioral acculturation. Conversely, the relation between adolescents' ethnic identity resolution and their civil participation was not dependent on their behavioral acculturation level. Our study highlighted the joint contribution of adolescent and parenting factors in promoting different forms of youth civic engagement in Chinese American families. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

“I trust the health care system, but I also do a little bit of research to understand more”: Vaccine decision-making processes of Vietnamese American parents as acts of agency

“I trust the health care system, but I also do a little bit of research to understand more”: Vaccine decision-making processes of Vietnamese American parents as acts of agency

Racial Attitudes Among Asian American Parents and Their Influence on School Choice

In this article Tiffany Wu, Adriana Villavicencio, and Verenisse Ponce Soria investigate how Asian American parents define and understand diversity and explore how racial attitudes influence parents’ school choices. Drawing on a broader study of a school choice policy designed to reduce racial segregation in a large, urban school district, the authors focus on interviews conducted in English and Mandarin with thirty-four Asian American parents to examine how they conceptualize school diversity and how, or if, race influences their school choices. In exploring the motivations behind their preferences, they found that parents’ statements reflected an internalization of the model minority myth and that their preferences were also based in their beliefs about school and neighborhood safety, including concerns over growing racial discrimination against Asian Americans. This study is aimed to help policy makers better understand the complex motivations within multiracial communities when designing and implementing school integration plans.

Uncertain safety: uncovering the religious racial socialization process among Muslim American families during the 2016 election

ABSTRACT Racial socialization refers to the process through which children come to understand their own and others' racial identities, roles, and positions in various contexts, and how race will function in their lives. Although research on the racialization of Islam is growing, the socialization of racialized religious identities is less understood. This article draws on two years of ethnographic and interview data collected among Muslim American families whose children were enrolled in Islamic private schools in suburban Metro Detroit during the 2016 presidential election season. Within this political milieu, second-generation Muslim American parents engaged in what I term religious racial socialization. I show how the process of protecting children from the harms of Islamophobia meant practicing both cultural socialization and preparation for bias with the aid of Islamic schools and mosques. Yet, because the process is incapable of completely buffering against Islamophobia, parents' strategies highlight the tension of individual survival strategies within the context of existing religious-racial hierarchies, offering Muslim American children uncertain safety. The findings from this study contribute to family studies by showing how for some religiously minoritized populations, the processes of racial, religious, and political socialization are not only inextricably linked but are also co-constitutive and mutually reinforcing.

“We feel alone and not listened to”: Somali, Hmong and Latin American Parents’ Perspectives on Pediatric Serious Illness

“We feel alone and not listened to”: Somali, Hmong and Latin American Parents’ Perspectives on Pediatric Serious Illness

Uplifting the Voices of Asian American Parents Through an Online Family Book Club: Elicited and Silenced Cultural Knowledge

This ethnographic case study explores how parents participating in reading experiences influenced children's responses to culturally relevant texts. I focus on six Chinese American families who participated in an online family book club. The children were between the ages of four and six and spoke both English and Chinese Mandarin. In each session, the families listened to an interactive read-aloud, participated in a family book discussion after reading, and shared a question/connection with the group. The data included transcribed video-recordings, transcripts of the family's book discussions, and transcripts of interviews conducted with the families. These data were analyzed using Nexus Analysis and grounded coding methods. Findings showed that parents fostered connections between the child, the book, and their own relationship to the book. These connections reflected heritage culture, family history, and family experiences. The parents shaped the children's reading experience and cultural knowledge by building on and extending existing cultural knowledge, redirecting children to attend to new cultural knowledge, choosing not to address certain types of cultural knowledge, utilizing home resources, and cultivating intercultural awareness and language learning. This study has implications for teachers and educators who want to engage parents in supporting children's cultural knowledge.

The fall and rise of parental financial investments during the COVID‐19 pandemic

AbstractObjectiveThis research note investigates changes in American parents' financial investments in children during the COVID‐19 pandemic, as well as whether and how changes in parents' spending varied based on parental education.BackgroundParents purchase goods, experiences, and services that shape children's human capital and life chances. Socioeconomic differences in parental expenditures on children represent an important pathway for perpetuating inequality across generations. The COVID‐19 pandemic disrupted children's lives in ways that may have changed these levels of investment.MethodThe 2015–2022 Consumer Expenditure Survey (CEX) is used to describe spending on five key categories of investments in children's human capital (educational spending, extracurricular activities and lessons, computers and tablets, formal childcare, informal childcare) overall and by parental education. Mediation analysis assesses the extent school closures explain these changes.ResultsChildcare and extracurricular expenditures initially decreased significantly and then gradually recovered to pre‐pandemic levels by the end of 2021. Cutbacks were primarily among more educated families. However, spending on schooling increased in 2021 and computer and tablet purchases spiked in 2020, particularly among more educated families. Mediation analysis suggests that when expenditures were most affected by the pandemic (in 2020), school closures explained 50%–70% of those changes.ConclusionThis note provides evidence that during the pandemic socioeconomic inequalities in child‐related spending decreased in some categories of spending (e.g., childcare and extracurriculars) and increased in others (e.g., computers and tablets). Many changes appeared short‐term, but changes in education point to possible longer‐term shifts in parents' preferences about children's educational environments.

Network analysis of ethnic-racial socialization competency and content among diverse parents of color: An eye toward intervention targets.

To help their children survive and thrive in our unequal society, parents of color must engage in the process of ethnic-racial socialization (ERS) or teaching about race, ethnicity, and racism. Equally important to the provision of ERS messages are parents' confidence, skills, and stress levels around delivering ERS (i.e., ERS competency). Currently, little work speaks to how different aspects of parental ERS competency and the content of the messages they give are related to each other. This is important to better understand not only for the continued refinement of theory but also to inform newly developed and future interventions intervening upon parental ERS. The present study, therefore, utilizes network analysis, an analytical tool not yet applied to the study of ERS but with the capabilities of illustrating the interrelations between specific aspects of ERS content and competency. Among 576 Black, Asian American, and Latinx parents (Mage = 44.52 years old, SDage = 9.16, 59.5% mothers) with adolescent children (Mage = 14.31, SDage = 2.48), we found evidence for relatively sparse interconnections between dimensions of ERS content and competency. However, we identified parental messages about racism and coping (preparation for bias), the celebration of diversity (cultural pluralism), the history and values of one's ethnic-racial group (cultural socialization), and parents' levels of socialization-related stress as particularly central, important aspects of ERS; these central components of ERS may have the potential to serve as particularly powerful intervention targets. Specific findings and the potential for network analyses to add to our understanding of the complex process of ERS are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Parental Sanctification, God Images, and Parental Happiness and Satisfaction in the United States

AbstractThe goal of this study was to assess the relationship between non‐theistic parental sanctification and well‐being among parents, and whether parents’ primary images of God (authoritative, benevolent, critical, and distant) modified this relationship among American parents. Drawing on nationally representative data from the 2014 Baylor Religion Survey (N = 1078), our cross‐sectional results suggest that non‐theistic sanctification was linked to greater overall happiness and satisfaction in the parental role. We also found consistent evidence that the relationship between non‐theistic parental sanctification and greater happiness and parental satisfaction was stronger for individuals with either an authoritative or benevolent God image, and weaker among those with parents with a distant God image. The study of sanctification in conjunction with images of the divine offers one fruitful approach to understanding both the benefits and risks of integrating religion/spirituality into daily life.

Attitudes, healthcare interactions, and communication preferences for HPV vaccines among hesitant Hispanic/Latinx parents: how does this compare with influenza and COVID-19 vaccines?

ABSTRACT Objective We explored HPV vaccine concerns and healthcare provider communication among Hispanic/Latinx hesitant parents during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how those concerns and provider communications compared for influenza and COVID-19 vaccines. As a secondary aim, we explored communication needs and strategies for these recommended vaccines. Design We applied a concurrent, multi-method study design (survey and interview) with 23 Hispanic/Latinx American parents of adolescents aged 11–18 years. An inductive deductive thematic approach was used to interpret interview data. Descriptives were used to analyze survey data. Results Overall, most parents (77%) perceived that their child was receiving too many vaccines. Regarding hesitancy for the HPV vaccine, major parental concerns related to vaccine effectiveness (83%), vaccine necessity (83%), and vaccine safety (80%). For the COVID vaccine, major concerns were the newness of vaccine (83%), vaccine safety (77%), low perceived effectiveness (77%), and low perceived need (77%). For influenza vaccines, major parental concerns were vaccine safety (73%), low perceived need (73%), and preference for natural over vaccine-induced immunity (73%). Parents had overall positive views towards vaccination. Some parents prioritized school-required vaccines, and others ranked the recommended vaccines- HPV, COVID-19, and influenza vaccines- for their children. They saw the benefits of recommended vaccines; however, there were concerns. The majority received a provider’s recommendation for HPV vaccination for their child, while over half had not received a recommendation for COVID-19 and influenza vaccines. Recommended communication strategies were diverse with parents highlighting the need for providers to capitalize on waiting and clinic rooms to provide education. Conclusion Healthcare providers should take advantage of missed opportunities, improve healthcare interactions with a strong recommendation and persistent communication, and offer diverse communication strategies and messaging for vaccines. Future work should further explore multi-vaccine concerns and how addressing these concerns through healthcare-provider communication could improve HPV vaccination along with COVID-19 and influenza vaccination.

Family resources, resilience beliefs, and parental adaptation: A moderated mediation analysis.

Despite the extensive body of evidence documenting how pandemic-related stressors (e.g., disruptions in daily routine) impact individuals' mental health, research examining family mechanisms through which stressors impact parental stress remains insufficient. The present study aims to address this gap by exploring a moderated mediation model that predicts parental stress resulting from the accumulation of pandemic-related stressors. Specifically, we hypothesized a second-stage moderated mediation model in which family resilience beliefs moderated the second-stage indirect paths through family relationships and marital satisfaction, resulting in conditional indirect effects. Study data were collected from American parents (n = 1386). There was no evidence that family relationships and marital satisfaction mediated the association between stressor pile-up and parent stress. In addition, family resilience beliefs did not significantly impact how marital satisfaction or family relationships affect parental stress. However, marital satisfaction mediated the relationship between stressor pile-up and parental stress across all levels of family resilience beliefs. The findings of this study carry significant implications for post-pandemic family interventions, suggesting the incorporation of resilience belief training and stress management strategies to improve intrafamilial communication.

Parent–Child Relationship, Resilience Beliefs, Relationship Quality and Stress During the Pandemic in American Families: A Moderated Mediation Analysis

ABSTRACTThe study aims to investigate factors within the double ABC‐X model to explain parents' stress during the first wave of the COVID‐19 pandemic, with a focus on adaptive resources (i.e., parent–child relationship and relationship quality) and the moderating effect of appraisal (i.e., family resilience beliefs). Drawing on a sample of 1386 American parents, this study examines the moderated mediation effects to test the conditional indirect influence of a moderating variable (i.e., family resilience beliefs) on the relationship between a predictor (i.e., stressor pile‐up) and an outcome variable (i.e., stress) through potential mediators (i.e., family satisfaction and relationship quality). The results indicate that the relationship between stressor pile‐up and parent stress was mediated by both parent–child relationship and relationship quality. In addition, the direct association between the parent–child relationship and parent stress was moderated by family resilience beliefs. However, the moderation effects of family resilience beliefs on relationship quality and stress were not supported. Family resilience beliefs moderated the indirect effect of stressor pile‐up on parent stress through the parent–child relationship, but not through relationship quality. The study emphasized the contribution of stressors and adaptive resources in understanding parental adaptation and the role of the family system in maintaining well‐being during unprecedentedly challenging times.