Parent training with African-American families

Developing parenting interventions that produce positive results for African American families continues to be a priority in the field of human services. This dissertation begins with a review of the literature regarding parenting practices and parenting styles in general, and then more specifically of African Americans. The work continues with a discussion of successful parent training programs and their components. A study is then presented that aims to explore how 31 African-American participants describe their parenting style, and then also information was obtained on what they perceive as the elements necessary for a successful parent training intervention for African-American families. Finally, implications for human services practice and policy are outlined.;The study was exploratory in nature, however, it was hypothesized that the participants would describe their parenting style as high on monitoring and control, but also warm and supportive. Participants would also describe their parenting practices to be based in African American culture and tradition. And thus, express a need for more African American customs and parental strategies to be included in the parent training program presented in this study. These findings would add to a growing literature that suggests a need for culturally specific interventions.;To test these exploratory hypotheses, 31 African American parents and non-parents of a small Midwestern community were presented with instruments measuring parenting practices (AAPI-R), level of acculturation (AAAS-R), and a vignette, with an accompanying questionnaire, that gleaned useful information about rater preferences for a parent training program.;The data in this study supported the growing literature on the African-American parenting style. Generally, the participants described their parenting style as strict, but nurturing. Participants also expressed the importance of including corporal punishment and cultural values in their parenting practices, and also in parent training programs with African American families.