Houston, T. H. (2014). Can Psychoeducation Affect Change In Attitudes Towards Parenting In Black Women?. Adelphi University, The Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies.

Abstract

Mothers have a greater impact on child emotional development than many have realized. The quality of the attachment relationship, a nurturing environment, and appropriate stimulation from mother, or primary caregiver, will determine a child’s psychological well-being. Black women often face multiple stresses associated with race, class, gender and other socioeconomic difficulties (Collins, 2000) that can impact their ability to provide the requisite environments, or even parent the way they want.

The participants in this study self-reported exposure to violence, trauma and experiences of neglect in childhood. Research has shown that unresolved trauma from childhood can manifest in adulthood and mother/child dyadic relationships (Fraiberg, Adelson, & Shapiro, 1975). It was found in this study that mothers either replicate parenting techniques they deemed valuable, or discarded unfavorable strategies used by their mothers when they were young. The current study attempts to respond to the question: Can an intervention that educates mothers about child emotional development, and designed specifically for Black women to address their unique constellation of difficulties, affect a change in mothering?

The researcher-designed intervention, SOULFOOD, was administered to a sample of eleven women who self-identified as African, Caribbean, and Latin American, middle-class women between the ages of twenty and forty-five. The Demographic Questionnaire (researcher designed), the Resilience Scale, Coping Strategies Inventory (CSI), Life Events Checklist (LEC) instruments were used to collect specific data about the women, while the Parent Stress Inventory (PSI-SF) targeted the parent/child relationship. Finally, the Parental Attitudes toward Child Rearing Scales (PACR) served as a baseline/end of treatment measure to detect changes, if any, occurring subsequent to the administration of the intervention. Transcriptions of the initial interview and a written Program Evaluation were coded for content and common threats. The sessions were recorded and transcribed to learn more about the women’s personal experiences, individual feelings, and attitudes toward mothering. The paired sample t-tests of the PACR revealed two significant effects indicative of changes in attitudes toward mothering as follows: participants indicated they were less likely to threaten punishment (responded with more understanding to child), and they were in more agreement with their partner about childrearing (indicative of a greater appreciation for support). The trends revealed the mothers: had greater respect of their child’s opinions; encouraged their child to express anger; believed toilet training should start earlier; didn’t want their child to grow up so fast. The trends also showed that parents were more likely to disagree about teaching a child to obey at an early age, and that taking care of a child is more work that pleasure. The qualitative data revealed that the middle-class women’s life experiences were not much different from their lower-class counterparts. Although all of the participants reported at least some college, they noted how their income was just high enough to disqualify them from receiving systemic supports for their families, such as reduced fees for day care services. The women expressed ongoing encounters with racism and sexism. Several women reported interrupted attachment relationships with their mothers who left them with relatives while they sought a better life for the family. Many of the women had mothers who worked long hours and subsequently recall being separated from their mothers; those women were determined to parent differently. A few women came from single-family households and now head single family households. Still, most of the women attributed their parenting skills to the relationship, good or bad, they had with their mothers. All of the mothers noted how motherhood changed their lives. The majority of the participants identified with feminist views of Black women and expressed pride in their Black heritage.