BICULTURALISM, FAMILISM, AND PARENTING STYLES OF HAITIAN PARENTS WITH JUVENILE YOUTH: IMPACT OF A FAMILY-BASED INTERVENTION

The purpose of this randomized experimental design was to determine the impact of a culturally adapted family-based intervention program on parenting styles. A secondary purpose was to determine the impact of cultural factors, biculturalism and familism, on the parenting styles of parents who participated in the family intervention, as compared to those who did not participate in the intervention. The sample consisted mostly of Haitian parents whose youth, ages 13-17, were involved in the juvenile justice system in South Florida. Twenty-one parents were randomly assigned to the intervention group (n = 15) and comparison group, or standard of care (n = 6). This study was a substudy of a larger scale study that was conducted at a major university in South Florida.
Participants in the family-based intervention group received an evidence-based intervention that was adapted to their cultural needs and language preferences. The intervention lasted between 3-4 months. Participants in the comparison group were those in the standard of care, or treatment as usual group, who were referred to community-based organizations for counseling services. A pretest-posttest design was used to examine the effects of the culturally adapted intervention on parenting styles and familism. Parenting styles were measured using the Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire (PSDQ, Robinson et al., 1995) and familism was measured using the Attitudinal Familism Scale (Lugo Steidel & Contreras, 2003). T-test analyses were used to determine statistical significance of the variables and gain scores were calculated for the intervention group and comparison group. Pearson’s r correlation coefficient was also used to explore any significant relationships between the dependent variables, parenting styles and familism, and parenting styles and biculturalism. Biculturalism was measured using the Bicultural Involvement Questionnaire (Szapocznik et al., 1980).