Guerda Nicolas, PhD

School of Education & Human Development

University of Miami

IASA 3rd Biennial Conference

Frankfurt, Germany

September 13-15

Presentation Overview

Historical perspectives-Role of Theories

Parental Interventions

Culture and Parenting

Examples of Parenting Practices Across Cultures

The Strong Roots Program

Difference Between Culture & Race

CULTURE RACE

The Theories-A Look Back at History

1900-1920-PopularTheorists of the Era—

• Sigmund Freud Believed that early life experiences will affect personality later on.

• John Watson Behaviorism theory—which stated that you can shape a child into whatever you want them to be.

1920-1940-Popular Theorists of the Era—

• Arnold Gesell Identified typical growth and development patterns for height, weight and motor skills in young children.

• Erik Erikson Psychosocial theory—which states that a childʼ s behavior develops in various stages. That a person, over time, can change, and that the amount of change is dependent on how a person deals with significant events at different stages.

The Theories-A Look Back at History

1940-1960-Popular Theorists of the Era—

• John Bowlby Researched mother-child attachment. He felt a mother and child were “hard-wired” in their brain to connect emotionally.

• Mary Salter (Ainsworth)-mother and child interactions.

• B.F. Skinner Behavior modification theory. “Catch them being good and reinforce positive behavior.”

• Dr. Benjamin Spock “Common sense” parenting theory. “Donʼt be too harsh or too easy, listen to your heart”, he would say.

1960-1980- Popular Theorists of the Era—

• Jean Piaget Cognitive Development or how children think and learn at different stages.

• Rudolf Dreikurs Logical and natural consequences to teach responsibility and self-discipline.

• Abraham Maslow Hierarchy of needs.

• Diana Baumrind Studied parenting styles—authoritarian, permissive, democratic; and family dynamics.

The Theories-A Look Back at History

1980-2000- Popular Theorists of the Era—

• Urie Bronfenbrenner Social ecology for child development—different “layers” of people around the child all influence the total development of the child.

• T. Berry Brazelton Tried to focus on the individual differences in children and how family lifestyles are changing.

• Patricia Crittenden-Dynamic-Maturational Model (DMM) of attachment and adaptation

LINKING THEORIES &

PARENTING INTERVENTIONS

“If a community values its children it must cherish their parents”

(Bowlby, 1951)

Parenting Interventions: Evidence-based

Family Intervention Approaches

Behavioral parent training (primarily

cognitive/behavioral parent training)

Family skills training including parent

training, children’s skills training, and family

practice time together)

Family therapy (structural, functional,

or behavioral family therapy) and

In-home family support

Characteristics of Successful Family-Strengthening Programs:

Sharing a meal Doing homework

together

Playing Games or Solving

Puzzles

Creating Artwork or Crafts

Participating in Sports

Sharing family stories and

histories

Family trips to museums, parks,

libraries etc.

Culture & Parenting Practices

Cultural Frameworks

Rogoff’s Theory of Human Development

• Focused on the cultural practices and the traditions within communities

Culture-centeredness Approach

• Defined as putting culture at the center of practice in service delivery

Parenting Across Cultures CDC Study

SIMILARITIES

• All parent groups wanted their children to be respectful, obedient, and polite; to share and to do well in school; and expressed displeasure with their chil-dren being disrespectful, disobedient, selfish, dishonest, or having temper tantrums.

• All groups also agreed that when children misbehaved, disciplinary tactics such as signaling disapproval, explaining, and setting limits should be attempted before resorting to more punitive practices such as isolation, taking away privileges, or spanking.

DIFFERENCES

• African-American, Latino, and American Indian fathers thought it was important for children to have a religious or spiritual foundation;

• Asian and White parents stressed the need for children to exercise self-control;

• Asian, Latino, and African-American fathers wanted children to be assertive, independent, and to take responsibility for their mistakes.

Culturally Responsive Parenting

World Health Organization in 2006 Study-Caregiver responsiveness

(India, Colombia, the United States, Chile, East Africa, Mexico, Jamaica, Brazil, South Africa and the Netherlands)

Responsiveness is a three-step process consisting of

1. observation (observing a child’s cues)

2. interpretation (interpreting signals such as illness), and

3. action (working to meet a child’s needs).

An Example: Hair Braiding in Black Families

How to braid hair step by step:

Comb hair until it is tangle-free. If the

hair is too slick, you can use some type of wax to get a better grip of the hair but

its not a must.

Apply leave on conditioner to make the hair

smoother.

Plan what cornrows style will be applied

on the hair.

Then divide the hair into sections and choose smaller

cornrows because they hold tighter than

the large ones.

Clip the hair not being used to

avoid complications.

Start by taking a small part of hair then divide that

part into three smaller but equal portions.

Then start by putting the left strand at the top

of the center strand making the left the new center and then take the

right strand and put it at the top of the new

center strand.

Then take a small amount of hair that is not included in the

original three and braid it with the others. Continue braiding until the

end of the hair reached. Make sure

the cornrows are tight and sticking to

the scalp.

The last step is to place a rubber band into the end of the hair tight enough not to make the

cornrows loose. Start the next portion of the hair and repeat

the steps above.

The Strong Roots Caregiver Program

Strong Roots: The Foundation

A response to local community identified need.

People parent they way they were parented. But different times, non-traditional and single caregiver families require different parenting skills.

Scientifically validated successful parenting techniques

Strengths based approach targets key development spans for psychological empowerment.

Strong Roots: The Focus (public)

• Developing healthy ethnic identity

• Preventative parenting

• Gender specific needs in parents and children.

• Conflict remediation and peace building.

• Psychological self care in parents.

• Successful modeling

• Fostering resilience

• Communication techniques

• Self esteem building

Strong Roots: The Difference

• Incorporation of culture specific – music, literature

• Local guest speakers

• Participant as experts

• Empirical assessment of outcomes

• Beyond traditional remediation approach Strong Roots focuses on positive psychological parenting and well being

• Integration with Kulula program = multilevel family intervention

PROGRAM

PARENT ACTIVITIES

• Guest speakers

• Round-table discussion

• Topics: racial identity, countering negative racial socialization, gratitude, communication, well being, positive parenting practices

CHILDREN ACTIVITIES

• Children in small groups

• Topics: racial identity, self-esteem, communication, relationship building, gratitude, well-being

JOINT ACTIVITIES

• Dinner with families, facilitators, volunteers, and some community partners to begin each session

• A gratitude/closing circle to end session

Take Home Message

• Theories informed interventions practice

• Theories need to culturally relevant in order for interventions to be culturally relevant

• Parenting practices are culturally informed

• Parenting interventions must take into the culture of the individuals

What Type of Outcome Do We Want?

• “So I want to tell you that when you’re doing your studies with our youth and us, we tell you what we really think and believe. We don’t tell you what we tell other researchers. We tell them what we want them to know, but we don’t go into much detail. And sometimes a few of us will make up stories so that they’ll go away and we don’t insult them by saying [no] to them” (Trimble & Mohatt, 2006, p. 332)

“Addressing Cultural issues is important work for the academy,

the nation, and the world. It is socially urgent, intellectually compelling, and personally

transforming”

Guerda Nicolas Ph.D. Chairperson Department of Educational and Psychological Studies School of Education and Human Development University of Miami P.O. Box 248065

Coral Gables, Florida 33124-2040

(305) 284-9124 - o

(305) 284-3003 - f nguerda@miami.edu