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Preferences for Parenting Programs in Head Start: Using Conjoint Analysis to Understand Engagement in Parenting Health Promotion Programs

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Abstract

The impact of evidence-based parenting health promotion programs is threatened by limited enrollment and attendance. We used a discrete choice experiment (DCE) to examine how Early Head Start and Head Start parents prioritized key attributes of parenting programs when considering potential participation. Utility values and importance scores indicate that parents placed the highest priority on a program that optimized child academic outcomes, and after that, on a program that offered incentives and logistical supports, and maximized potential effects on friendship skills, behavioral skills, and the parent–child relationship. Next, we used simulations or forecasting tools to estimate parents’ preferences for types of programs. Sixty-five percent of parents preferred Outcome-focused Programs that fostered parents’ understanding and practice of skills, whereas 23% prioritized Enhanced Support Programs offering logistic support, such as incentives, followed by child outcomes. The remaining 12% of parents preferred Format-focused Programs that targeted positive outcomes via one 30-min meeting. Parents preferring Outcome-focused Programs reported higher child prosocial behaviors compared to parents preferring Enhanced Support and Format-focused Programs. Parents preferring Outcome-focused Programs were more likely to be those of 3- and 4-year-old children than of 2-year-olds. Findings challenge the one-size-fits-all approach to offering parenting programs and suggest ways to enhance accessibility and program reach.

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Notes

  1. We use the term “health promotion program” to refer to programs that bolster academic success as well as a variety of health and family outcomes, such as those offered in Head Start Programming. Some health promotion programs include parent training programs. Core components of behavioral parent training programs, such as The Incredible Years (Webster-Stratton & Bywater, 2019), include building strong relationships; being a social, emotional, and academic coach for children; providing praise and incentives; setting limits and establishing household rules; and handling misbehavior.

  2. Process factors or attributes include variations in delivery or format (e.g., meeting individually with a therapist or in groups with other parents, families, and/or children) as well as the inclusion of logistical supports and incentives to facilitate the transfer process of information.

  3. Outcome attributes include areas of improved functioning in children and improvements in parents’ knowledge, skill, and emotional well-being related to parenting and child rearing.

  4. Content attributes include parent skills targeted in the program session or the child’s behavioral goal or target.

  5. For consistency, we use the definitions and categorizations of content, process, and outcome attributes used in Cunningham et al. (2008, 2013), Waschbusch et al. (2011), and Wymbs et al. (2015, 2017).

  6. We use the term “Latine” in our study based on parents’ stated preference for the name used for their cultural/ethnic group.

  7. Role plays and practice with other parents are examples of active learning strategies; parents did not see these examples when answering the conjoint survey.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Primary Care, Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, Ohio University, Athens, OH, USA

    Frances Wymbs

  2. Department of Psychology, Ferkauf Graduate School, Yeshiva University, New York, NY, USA

    Greta L. Doctoroff & Gillian Sternheim

  3. Department of Applied Psychology, Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development, New York University, New York, NY, USA

    Anil Chacko

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  1. Frances Wymbs
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  2. Greta L. Doctoroff
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  4. Gillian Sternheim
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Correspondence to Frances Wymbs.

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Wymbs, F., Doctoroff, G.L., Chacko, A. et al. Preferences for Parenting Programs in Head Start: Using Conjoint Analysis to Understand Engagement in Parenting Health Promotion Programs. Prev Sci 22, 866–879 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-021-01288-7

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