The Effect of Communication Change on Long‐term Reductions in Child Exposure to Conflict: Impact of the Promoting Strong African American Families (ProSAAF) Program

Abstract

African American couples (n=331) with children, 89 percent of whom were married, were assigned to either (a) a culturally sensitive, couple- and parenting-enhancement program (ProSAAF) or (b) an information-only control condition in which couples received self-help materials. Husbands averaged 41 years of age and wives averaged 39 years. We found significant effects of program participation in the short-term on couple communication, which was targeted by the intervention, as well as over the long-term, on self-reported arguing in front of children. Long-term parenting outcomes were fully mediated by changes in communication for wives but not for husbands. For husbands, positive change depended on amount of wife reported change. We conclude that wives’ changes in communication from baseline to post-test may be more pivotal for the couples’ long-term experience of decreased arguing in front of children than are husbands’ changes, with wives’ changes leading to changes in both partners’ reports of arguments in front of children.

Prevention effects on trajectories of African American adolescents’ exposure to interparental conflict and depressive symptoms.

“…The first study by Cummings and colleagues (Cummings & Schatz, 2012) observationally found treatment couples and their adolescents to have more supportive and constructive couple and family communication patterns than those in the control condition. The second study by Beach and colleagues (2014) of the current ProSAAF intervention found treatment effects on fathers' and mothers' self-reported effective communication which, in turn, were linked to fathers' and mothers' reported levels of arguing in front of their child. Treatment effects in both studies were limited to mean group differences and did not consider post-program trajectories for control and treatment groups.…”

Decreasing Substance use Risk among African American Youth: Parent-based Mechanisms of Change

“…First, most family-centered prevention programs for African American youth have focused exclusively on the parent-child relationship, failing to address the needs and dynamics of two-parent households, in which co-parenting and couple relationship processes may play a key role in youth well-being (Cummings et al, 2002). Because of the salience of the interparental relationship to the parent-child relationship, scholars have emphasized the potential value of using the adult dyad as a point of intervention to change parenting (e.g., Knox, Cowan, Cowan, & Bildner, 2011), and some recent research of prevention programs has begun to emerge supporting this view (see Beach et al, 2014; Barton et al, 2015; Epstein et al, 2015; McHale et al, 2015). By working with both parents together, positive changes in parent-youth relationships may be more readily initiated and maintained (DeGarmo, Patterson, & Forgatch, 2004).…”

“…ProSAAF was designed to enhance family functioning holistically by targeting couple and parenting relationships to promote positive interactions among couples and to enhance positive youth development, including substance use resistance. Using previously tested parenting components from SAAF (Brody et al, 2004) and components of couple relationship enhancement included in an earlier version of ProSAAF (Beach et al, 2014), all components were revised and new material was added. Program presentation clarified that the relationship focus was in the service of enhancing coparenting and better protecting youth from the negative influences of economic stress and discrimination.…”

“…Consistent with past prevention research (e.g., Brody et al, 2004), we developed an intervention model and a curriculum manual based on protective processes identified in prior research (e.g., Beach et al, 2014; Brody et al, 2004). In addition to leveraging material from existing programs, the current ProSAAF program included content related to positive couple interactions, specific dimensions of protective parenting, and couple team work in the face of economic adversity and other daily stressors.…”

“…For parenting specifically, studies show that interparental relationship problems, including disagreements about parenting, strongly predict the quality of the parenting experience (Cummings, Goeke-Morey, & Graham, 2002). Consequently, family-based psychoeducational interventions may be improved if they address not only effective parenting practices but also the couple relationship as a vehicle for enhancing the extent to which parents can effectively apply the parenting and co-parenting strategies taught in the intervention (see Beach et al, 2014; Epstein et al, 2015; McHale, Salman-Engin, & Coovert, 2015). …”