Exploring the Cultural Validity of Parent-Implemented Naturalistic Language Intervention Procedures for Families From Spanish-Speaking Latinx Homes

Purpose: This study addressed the cultural, linguistic, and contextual validity of parent-implemented naturalistic language interventions for young children from Latinx homes. Parents' perspectives on the acceptability of commonly delivered intervention procedures were explored. Method: Thirty-seven parents from Spanish-speaking Latinx backgrounds with children under the age of 6 years participated. Four focus groups were completed. Parents responded to 14 procedures regarding the intervention implementers, settings, activities, strategies, and language. Structural and emergent coding was used to explore procedural acceptability and parents' rationales for perceiving each procedure as acceptable, not acceptable, or neutral. Results: Substantial intracultural variability in parents' acceptance of specific procedures and the reasons for their perspectives was observed. Parents' perspectives evinced both individualist and collectivist orientations toward child language development. Several suggestions regarding promising adaptations for early language interventions that may overlap with evidence-based parent-implemented naturalistic language intervention procedures emerged. Conclusion: The findings highlight the variability within the Latinx community that is likely to impact the cultural validity of early language interventions for children and families from this background. Considerations for enhancing interventions to achieve cultural congruency and promote child outcomes are provided.