Influencing Parenting Behavior in Migrant Families Coping with Disruptive Child Behavior

Abstract

Abstract Migrant children face an increased risk of externalizing problem behavior. Parent training may reduce such behavior problems, but we know little about actual parenting and sensitivity to parent training in migrant families of children at risk. Parenting behavior, the relationship between parenting and child behavior, and the effects of the Incredible Years Parenting Intervention (IYPT) were examined in migrant families compared to native Dutch families coping with disruptive child behavior. We expected that parenting behavior in migrant and native families would differ and would be differentially influenced by the intervention. Actual parenting behavior in Moroccan, Turkish and Dutch families was observed in parent-child interactions to shed light on these hypotheses. The 73 participating children were 3–8 years old (M = 5.25; SD = 1.44; 69.9% boys; 30.1% ethnic minorities). Parenting behavior did not differ between migrant and native Dutch families, but it did differ between families with a different socioeconomic status (SES). Disruptive child behavior was related with negative parenting behavior in migrant and native Dutch families alike. Parents in migrant nor Dutch families changed their observed parenting behavior significantly after following the intervention. This study indicated that SES status is a more important factor in explaining parenting behavior than migrant status. It also underscored the importance of investigating intervention effectiveness with observational rather than questionnaire methods in order to obtain an image of actual changes in parenting behavior.