Single Black Mothers: Work, Mental Health, Parenting

描述(申请人提供)：这项探索性/发展研究是申请#1 R21 MH66846-01的修订版，建议对匹兹堡120名领取(和已领取)福利的有工作和无工作、单身的黑人母亲及其年幼子女(3-4岁)的母亲心理功能、育儿方式和子女结果之间的关系进行调查。然后，它建议发展一种心理教育团体干预，以应对这一群体(母亲)心理功能不佳的高风险，以促进更具支持性和认知刺激的育儿，从而随着时间的推移，改善孩子的结果。因此，这是我们先前关于客观经济环境、产妇和儿童特征、家庭进程和儿童发展结果之间关系的工作的合乎逻辑的延伸。要求提供支助，以初步审查拟议干预措施在一至两年内对母亲育儿充分性以及儿童认知和行为结果的纵向影响。 具体目标是：1)获取关于母亲的经济状况(收入来源、经济压力，如果有工作，工作时间和小时工资)、心理功能(抑郁症状、自我效能信念、育儿压力)、家庭环境中的育儿做法、支持网络、就业障碍(包括儿童保育资源)和儿童学龄前准备情况的信息；2)制定心理教育干预的治疗方案和手册，使母亲参与进来，提供支持，增强心理功能，并根据已证实的心理教育原则、理论和经验证据促进更充分的育儿；3)在一到两年的时间里纵向测试这种干预在情感支持和认知刺激方面的成功/有效性；以及4)测试早期更充分的父母教育与幼儿园和小学早期儿童更好的认知和行为发展之间的关系。在基线时，母亲们将在家中接受采访，并随机分配到正在进行的心理教育组(n=60)或对照组(n=60)。控制组的母亲将每6个月接到一次电话，以便进行跟踪(如果需要或要求，还会转介他们寻求帮助)。我们将检验两个假设：1)参加心理教育团体干预的母亲比没有参加的母亲表现出更好的心理功能，以及更多的支持性和认知刺激性父母；2)在学龄前几年得到更多支持和认知刺激的父母(与没有参加的母亲相比)，在幼儿园和小学早期的适应性语言指标上得分较高，在行为问题指标上得分较低。我们打算使用这些数据，包括心理教育小组中母亲正在进行的过程评估，以完善干预并解决重要的分析问题，这些问题将成为更大的RO1提案的重点。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This exploratory/developmental study, a revision of application #1 R21 MH66846-01, proposes to examine the relations between and among maternal psychological functioning, parenting, and child outcomes in a sample of 120 employed and nonemployed, single, black mothers and their young children (ages 3-4 years old) in Pittsburgh who receive (and have received) welfare benefits. It then proposes to develop a psychoeducational group intervention as a counteraction against the high risk in this population (of mothers) for poor psychological functioning, to facilitate more supportive and cognitively stimulating parenting and, thereby, better child outcomes over time. As such, it is a logical extension of our earlier work on the associations among objective economic circumstances, maternal and child characteristics, family processes, and child developmental outcomes. Support is requested to conduct a preliminary examination of the longitudinal impact of the proposed intervention on maternal parenting adequacy and child cognitive and behavioral outcomes over one to two years. Specific aims are to: 1) elicit information about the mothers' economic circumstances (sources of income, financial strain, and, if employed, working hours and hourly pay), psychological functioning (depressive symptoms, self-efficacy beliefs, parenting stress), parenting practices in the home environment, networks of support, barriers to employment (including child-care resources), and the children's preschool readiness; 2) develop a treatment protocol and manual for a psychoeducational intervention that will engage mothers, provide support, enhance psychological functioning, and facilitate more adequate parenting based on proven psychoeducational principles, theory, and empirical evidence; 3) test longitudinally the success/effectiveness of this intervention over one to two years on emotionally supportive and cognitively stimulating parenting; and 4) test the relationship between more adequate parenting early on and better cognitive and behavioral development in children in kindergarten and early-elementary school. At baseline, mothers will be interviewed in their homes and assigned randomly to an ongoing psychoeducational group (n = 60) or a control group (n = 60). Mothers in the control group will get a telephone call every 6 months for tracking purposes (with referrals for help if needed or requested). We will test two hypotheses: 1) mothers who participate in the psychoeducational group intervention will demonstrate better psychological functioning and more supportive and cognitively stimulating parenting than those who do not; and 2) children who get more supportive and cognitively stimulating parenting in the preschool years (in comparison to those who do not) will score higher on a measure of adaptive language and lower on a measure of behavior problems in kindergarten and early-elementary school. We intend to use these data, including ongoing process evaluations from the mothers in the psychoeducational groups, to refine the intervention and address important analytic questions that will become the focus of a larger RO1 proposal.