THE IMPACT OF A PARENT TRAINING-PROGRAM ON INNER-CITY AFRICAN-AMERICAN FAMILIES

The Effective Black Parenting Program (EBPP), a culturally adapted, cognitive-behavioral parenting skill training program, was field tested on two cohorts of inner-city African-American parents and their first- and second-grade children. Pre-post changes on parental acceptance-rejection, family relationships, and on child behavior problems and social competencies were compared in a quasi-experimental design on two cohorts totalling 109 treatment and 64 control families over 1 year. Results from Cohort I indicated that the EBPP produced selected significant improvements in parental rejection, in the quality of family relationships, and in child behavior outcomes. These findings were partially confirmed in the Cohort II sample, which also included changes in the use of specific parenting behaviors. A 1-year follow-up indicated that the reductions in parental rejection and in selected child behavior problems were maintained, though a regressive trend toward more coercive parenting practices was also noted. Implications of these results are discussed, and recommendations for future research on community-based parenting programs are offered.