Parent Involvement, Parental Depression, and Program Satisfaction Among Low-Income Parents Participating in a Two-Generation Early Childhood Education Program

Abstract

Abstract:Research Findings: This study simultaneously examined parental depression and parent involvement as predictors of satisfaction with an early childhood intervention program. Parents (N = 203) of Head Start children participated in this short-term longitudinal study. Measures of parent involvement and satisfaction assessed multiple dimensions of these constructs. Nearly 40% of low-income mothers reported being sometimes or chronically depressed over the course of 1 year of the Head Start program. Compared with mothers who were never depressed, those who were sometimes depressed reported less involvement in home-and school-based activities as well as fewer interactions with their child's teacher. Never depressed parents were more likely to be satisfied with their child's teacher compared with either group of depressed mothers. Higher levels of parent involvement and parent-teacher interaction predicted optimal satisfaction with Head Start services. Practice or Policy: Implications of results for practice are considered in terms of teacher training to recognize unique needs involved in working to establish a homeschool connection with mothers experiencing depression. Strategies for building community partnerships to assist with mental health needs are discussed.parenting | depression | low income parents | parental involvement | early childhood

Play beliefs and responsive parenting among low-income mothers of preschoolers in the United States

“…Young children in low-income families are particularly at risk for disrupted parenting due to parental depression. National estimates show disproportionate rates of depression among low-income mothers compared to higher-income mothers (McDaniel & Lowenstein, 2013), and prevalence estimates based on studies of Head Start children and families suggest that as many as 33-40% of parents endorse moderate to severe levels of depressive symptoms (D'Elio, O'Brien, & Vaden-Kiernan, 2003;LaForett & Mendez, 2010).…”

Financial Strain, Major Family Life Events, and Parental Academic Involvement During Adolescence

“…Depressive symptoms have been linked with lower levels of academic involvement for parents of first grade students (Kohl, Lengua, & McMahon, 2000; LaForett & Mendez, 2010; Valdez, Shewakramani, Goldberg, & Padilla, 2013) and middle school students (Gutman & Eccles, 1999). The role of parental depressive and somatic symptoms and their association with parental academic involvement with high school adolescents, however, is unclear.…”

Whose Job Is It? Parents’ Perspectives on Volunteering to Help in New Zealand Kindergartens

“…Second, a substantial proportion of participants in this study was the parents with relatively high socioeconomic status (SES), for example, while the national mean gross household income at the time of survey (2009) was $91,900 (Ministry of Social Development, 2014), 40% of the participants' household income exceeded $100,000. The high SES might have contributed to the general positive attitude of the participants toward volunteering to help given the possible link between SES and parental involvement (Zellman & Perlman, 2006;Laforett & Mendez, 2010). A third limitation relates to the possible volunteer bias (Rosnow & Rosenthal, 1976) as a result of the volunteer participants in this study, that is, this study might have oversampled parents who were more inclined to volunteer to help at the kindergarten.…”