Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Oct;24(4):552-563.
doi: 10.1037/cdp0000215. Epub 2018 Jul 19.

Implementing an intervention to address challenging behaviors for autism spectrum disorder in publicly-funded mental health services: Therapist and parent perceptions of delivery with Latinx families

Colby Chlebowski  1 , Sandy Magaña  2 , Blanche Wright  3 , Lauren Brookman-Frazee  1
Affiliations

Implementing an intervention to address challenging behaviors for autism spectrum disorder in publicly-funded mental health services: Therapist and parent perceptions of delivery with Latinx families

Colby Chlebowski et al. Cultur Divers Ethnic Minor Psychol. 2018 Oct.

Abstract

Objectives: As implementation of evidence-based practices (EBPs) in publicly funded children's mental health services has become increasingly common, concerns have been raised about the appropriateness of specific EBPs to the diverse client populations served in these settings. Exploring stakeholder perspectives can provide direction for refinements of EBPs when delivered with Latinx families. The current study used qualitative methods to examine therapist and Latinx parent perceptions of therapist-parent interactions and the intervention process when therapists are trained to deliver AIM HI (An Individualized Mental Health Intervention for ASD), a structured, parent-mediated intervention for autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Method: Therapist and parent participants were a subset of participants from a large-scale community effectiveness trial. Perceptions were gathered through focus groups with therapists (n = 17) and semistructured interviews with Latinx parents (n = 29). Therapists were 94% female, 35% Latinx, and 47% were fluent in Spanish. Parents were 93% female, 100% Latinx, and 66% preferred Spanish. A coding, consensus, co-occurrence and comparison approach was used to analyze data.

Results: Three primary themes emerged: (a) limited parental knowledge about ASD and the need to address knowledge gaps; (b) differing perceptions regarding parental participation in treatment; and (c) identification of influences on parent-therapist interaction, including the cultural value of respeto/deference (emphasized by therapists), and importance of personalismo/personal connection (emphasized by parents).

Conclusions: The themes provide specific direction for enhancements to AIM HI to maximize engagement of Latinx families. The themes also have broader implications for intervention development and community implementation including refinement of EBPs to facilitate fit and sustained implementation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Aarons GA, Hurlburt M, Horwitz SM. Advancing a conceptual model of evidence-based practice implementation in child welfare. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research. 2011;38(1):4–23. doi: 10.1007/s10488-010-0327-7. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Alegría M, Chatterji P, Wells K, Cao Z, Chen CN, Takeuchi D, Meng XL. Disparity in depression treatment among racial and ethnic minority populations in the United States. Psychiatric services. 2008;59(11):1264–1272. doi: 10.1176/ps.2008.59.11.1264. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Alegría M, Pescosolido BA, Williams S, Canino G. Culture, Race/Ethnicity and Disparities: Fleshing Out the Socio-Cultural Framework for Health Services Disparities. In: Pescosolido BA, Martin JK, McLeod JD, Rogers A, editors. Handbook of the Sociology of Health, Illness, and Healing: A Blueprint for the 21st Century. 2011. pp. 363–382. - DOI
    1. Alegría M, Green JG, McLaughlin KA, Loder S. Disparities in child and adolescent mental health and mental health services in the US (Research Report) 2015 Retrieved from William T. Grant Foundation website: http://wtgrantfoundation.org/library/uploads/2015/09/Disparities-in-Chil....
    1. Alexandre PK, Younis MZ, Martins SS, Richard P. Disparities in adequate mental health care for past-year major depressive episodes among white and non-white youth. Journal of health care finance. 2010;36(3):57–72. Retrieved from: http://www.healthfinancejournal.com/index.php/johcf. - PubMed

MeSH terms