Parent Recruitment and Retention in a Universal Prevention Program for Child Behavior and Emotional Problems: Barriers to Research and Program Participation

Abstract

Despite the potential of parent training as a prevention and behavioral family intervention strategy, there are a number of important issues related to implementation (e.g., recruitment and retention of families). This paper presents recruitment and retention data from families enrolling in a randomized controlled universal prevention trial for child behavior problems conducted in Germany. The recruitment rate averaged 31% (general project participation), with families of lower socioeconomic status (SES) participating at a lower rate. Project-declining families most often reported intrusion of privacy as their primary concern. In contrast, once parents were enrolled in the project, participation among those randomized to the parent training group averaged 77% (program/intervention participation); non-participation was mostly due to logistical issues. Parents accepting the offer of parent training were more likely to report child behavior problems than did declining parents. Although parents from more disadvantaged areas had a lower overall level of participation in the project once recruited, parents with children having higher levels of behavior problems indeed were more likely to participate in the intervention. Different recruitment methods may be required to engage high-risk families from socioeconomically disadvantaged areas to further improve community-level impact on child mental health.

Effects of a Universal Parenting Program for Highly Adherent Parents: A Propensity Score Matching Approach

“…This limits self-selection and expectancy effects at the level of the participating aggregate units and increases generalizability. Furthermore, the study participation rate in the Braunschweig study was 31% (Heinrichs et al 2005) in comparison to 74% in the Zurich study, meaning that the latter results are more generalizable to the study population. Also, the Braunschweig study reports high baseline differences in problem behavior scores between the treated and the control condition (e.g., baseline CBCL treated M 033.1, SD020.1 vs. CBCL control M 026.3, SD014.0).…”

“…Thus, studies generally find that only around 15-30% of the target population enroll for program participation, and that often only about 50% of those who have enrolled effectively fully comply with the intervention (Dumas et al 2007;Dumka et al 1997;Haggerty et al 2002;Heinrichs et al 2005;Morawska and Sanders 2006;Spoth et al 2000). Such low exposure rates mean that treatment effects become highly diluted amongst the intended target group, and that an intention-to treat analysis of a randomized experiment yields results that are of limited value.…”

Increasing boys’ and girls’ intentions to avoid teenage pregnancy: a cluster randomised controlled feasibility trial of an interactive video drama-based intervention in post-primary schools in Northern Ireland

“…Often reported predictors of parental attendance include sociodemographic variables such as education and income level, which may be related to resources and ability to attend. [117][118][119][120] A future trial might consider providing parents with incentives in order to attend, including funds for travel or child-minding.…”

Ideación Suicida en Adolescentes: Un Análisis Psicosocial

“…are an ideal scenario for the implementation of preventive and promotion programs (Elias, Gager, & Leon, 1997;Neal & Neal, 2012;Pate et al, 2006;Story, Kaphingst, & French, 2006;Valli et al, 2014), in part because they provide wide-reaching access to the population and reduce accessibility problems (Heinrichs, Bertram, Kuschel, & Hahlweg, 2005;Naylor & McKay, 2009). In addition, in the last years, schools have introduced various orientation programs and schools for parents (Dryfoos, 1995;Worton et al, 2014), among other services for the families and the community.…”