¿Está disponible en español? A Systematic Review of Preventive Parenting Interventions Delivered in a Language Other Than English in the United States

Abstract

Decades of research have demonstrated that parenting programs are effective at changing parent behaviors and subsequently preventing myriad child outcomes including anxiety, depression, substance use, and HIV infection. However, most research into preventive parenting interventions in the United States has been conducted with English-speaking populations only. There is a clear mismatch between the linguistic diversity of the United States and the available evidence for preventive parenting programs. The current systematic review aimed to summarize the evidence on preventive parenting interventions in the United States delivered in a language other than English (LOTE). Forty-four peer-reviewed articles and three dissertations met eligibility criteria and represented evidence across thirty-five distinct studies. Most studies described how linguistic and cultural adaptations were made to deliver the program to parents who speak a LOTE. Synthesis across studies revealed that parenting interventions in a LOTE can be effective in promoting effective parenting behaviors and subsequently preventing child problem outcomes, with the caveat that almost 90% of randomized controlled trials in this area were delivered in Spanish. Recommendations are made to increase testing of preventive parenting programs in a LOTE with control samples to strengthen the current evidence base.

Keywords: Adolescent; Child; Languages; Mental health; Parenting; Substance use.

Fig. 1

PRISMA flow chart of screening and identification of included studies. Note. *Not available via Interlibrary Loan. Contacted study authors but did not receive a reply. All papers in this category were written in a language other than English and suspected to describe trials not conducted in the United States