A PILOT EVALUATION STUDY: Child and Parenting Skills (CAPS) a Program for Pregnant and Parenting Teens

Transcription

1 A PILOT EVALUATION STUDY: Child and Parenting Skills (CAPS) a Program for Pregnant and Parenting Teens Heidi Stolz, Ph.D. Patricia Roberson, M.S. Denise Brandon, Ph.D. University of Tennessee Knoxville, TN

2 A PILOT EVALUATION STUDY: CAPS Review of Literature CAPS description Research Design Results Discussion

3 A PILOT EVALUATION STUDY: CAPS Review of Literature CAPS description Research Design Survey Results Discussion

4 TEEN PREGNANCY: PREVALENCE In the US the percentage of teens who become pregnant has declined 41% since This percentage has remained relatively stable since Of industrialized nations US ranked highest Regionally Southeast ranked highest (Holcombe, Peterson, & Manlove, 2009; Guttmacher Institute, 2010)

5 TEEN PREGNANCY: PREVALENCE Percentage of teens who become pregnant annually. US overall 2.1% (approximately 750,000) African-American 4.6% Hispanic 3.5% Tennessee 6.1% (Holcombe, Peterson, & Manlove, 2009; Guttmacher Institute, 2010)

6 TEEN PREGNANCY: OUTCOMES Risks for teen mother: Increased health problems Increased social strain Low scholastic achievement Increased economic strain Increased risk of repeat pregnancy as a teen (Centers for Disease Control, 2004; Guttmacher Institute, 2010)

7 TEEN PREGNANCY: OUTCOMES Risks for infants born to teen mothers Health concerns as infants Longer term risks Delays in emotional development Problems in scholastic achievements More frequent displays of anti-social behaviors Increased risk of being teen parents (Levine, Emery, & Pollak, 2007; Maynard, 1997)

8 A PILOT EVALUATION STUDY: CAPS Review of Literature CAPS description Research Design Results Lessons Learned

9 CAPS: PROGRAM GOALS Population: High risk teen parents At risk for: Dropping out of school, abuse/neglect of infant Program Focus: Education Support Advocacy

10 CAPS: PROGRAM GOALS Program Aims: Prevent child abuse/ neglect. Increase parenting, developmental, and safety knowledge. Increase parenting confidence. Encourage educational attainment. Enhance personal well-being.

11 CAPS: PROGRAM DESCRIPTION Program Setting: Urban southern college-town and surrounding counties 17 high schools total potential program recipients per year Program Participants: Referred by school counselor Pregnant or parenting teens Teen mothers or fathers Currently enrolled in high school

12 CAPS: PROGRAM DESCRIPTION Facilitator Responsibilities Prepare each lesson Regular phone call to each participant Focus on individual needs Interact with participant s parents

13 CAPS: PROGRAM DESCRIPTION Sessions Weekly sessions during the school day Students meet in groups Structure of each session Discussion week s events (good and bad) Lesson on specific topic Short quiz

14 A PILOT EVALUATION STUDY: CAPS Review of Literature CAPS Description Research Design Results Lessons Learned

15 RESEARCH DESIGN: SAMPLE Female program participants Enrolled during fall semester Parents provided consent to participate Participants provided assent to participate Completed surveys N= 26

16 RESEARCH DESIGN: FACILITATOR Researchers trained facilitator Created training packet IRB approved protocol Materials for proctoring Training session at University CAPS Program facilitator conducted survey Collect informed consent Collect informed assent Proctor survey

17 RESEARCH DESIGN: SURVEY Administered once near semester s end Post-then-pre survey design Pre: Think back to after you found out you were pregnant but before you started the program Post: Now

18 RESEARCH DESIGN: MEASURES Measures: Demographics (e.g. age, race/ethnicity, parenting status) Educational Expectations (single item; pre-post) Life Stressors (7-item; 4 point likert-type scale; pre-post) Self-Esteem(10-item 3 point likert-type scale; pre-post) Parent Hopefulness (4-item likert-type scale; pre-post) Group Cohesion (6-items; 5 point likert-type scale; post) Program Satisfaction (6-items; 5 point likert-type scale; post)

19 A PILOT EVALUATION STUDY: CAPS Review of Literature CAPS description Research Design Results Discussion

20 RESULTS: PAIRED T-TEST Targeted Construct Post-intervention Preintervention t df Child Health & Safety Knowledge SIDS 2.72 (.54) 1.48 (.51) 11.86*** 24 Lead Poisoning 2.44 (.77) 1.36 (.57) 7.11*** 24 Fever 2.88 (.33) 2.12 (.67) 6.36*** 24 Immunization 2.68 (.56) 1.64 (.76) 6.19*** 24 Car Seats 2.84 (.47) 1.92 (.81) 6.06*** 24 Toy Safety 2.68 (.56) 1.76 (.78) 5.06*** 24 Educational Expectations 3.04 (1.37) 2.64 (1.44) Socioemotional Well-being Parental Hopefulness 2.98(.06) 2.62(.48) 3.90*** 24 Self-esteem 2.56(.30) 2.32(.45) 3.72*** 24 Life Stress 1.45(.42) 1.64(.61) Note *** = p <.001. Standard deviations in parentheses.

21 A PILOT EVALUATION STUDY: CAPS Review of Literature CAPS description Research Design Results Discussion

22 DISCUSSION Teens reporting an increase in knowledge may also: Have improved parenting skills Have children with improved health outcomes. (Chang & Fine, 2007). Teens reporting an increase in hope and self-esteem may also: Benefit from a positive outcome for selves and children. (Venning et al., 2007).

23 DISCUSSION Educational expectations and life stress were not influenced by the intervention. Educational expectations may be influenced by other unmeasured factors. Safety knowledge may not reduce stress levels the same way that broader child development knowledge does. (Howard, 2010).

24 LIMITATIONS Small sample size Self-report data Passage of time Program facilitators Partial program evaluation

25 FUTURE MANUSCRIPT EFFORTS Bolster literature review Parenting knowledge of child health and safety Role of self-esteem in teens Removal of life stress and educational aspirations Enhanced retrospective pre/post test justification Change language: Abuse Neglect

26 FUTURE RESEARCH Expand evaluation to more schools using this intervention so to increase participation. Include both semesters of the program. Implement longitudinal evaluation that include follow-up evaluations.

27 REFERENCES Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2007). Teen birth rate rises for first time in15 years Retrieved April 12, 2008, from Chang, & Fine. (2007). Modeling parenting stress trajectories among low-income young mothers across the child s second and third years: factors accounting for stability and change. Journal of Family Psychology, 21, Guttmacher Institute. (2010). U.S. teenage pregnancies, births, and abortions: National and state trends and trends by race and ethnicity. New York, NY: Author. Holcombe, E., Peterson, K., & Manlove, J. (2009). Ten reasons to still keep the focus on teen childbearing. Child Trends, 10, 1-6. Howard, K. S. (2010). Paternal attachment, parenting beliefs and children's attachment.. Early Child Development and Care, 180, Levine, J. A., Emery, C. R., & Pollak, H. (2007). The well-being of children born to teen mothers. Journal of Marriage & Family, Maynard, R. A. (Ed.). (1997). Kids having kids: A robin hood foundation special report on the costs of adolescent childbearing. New York, NY: Robing Hood Foundation. Venning, A., Elliot, J., Whitford, H., & Honnor, J. (2007). The impact of a child's chronic illness on hopeful thinking in children and parents. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 26,