Despite the potential of parent training as a prevention and behavioral family intervention strategy, there are a number of important issues related to implementation (e.g., recruitment and retention of families). This paper presents recruitment and retention data from families enrolling in a randomized controlled universal prevention trial for child behavior problems conducted in Germany. The recruitment rate averaged 31% (general project participation), with families of lower socioeconomic status (SES) participating at a lower rate. Project-declining families most often reported intrusion of privacy as their primary concern. In contrast, once parents were enrolled in the project, participation among those randomized to the parent training group averaged 77% (program/intervention participation); non-participation was mostly due to logistical issues. Parents accepting the offer of parent training were more likely to report child behavior problems than did declining parents. Although parents from more disadvantaged areas had a lower overall level of participation in the project once recruited, parents with children having higher levels of behavior problems indeed were more likely to participate in the intervention. Different recruitment methods may be required to engage high-risk families from socioeconomically disadvantaged areas to further improve community-level impact on child mental health.
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Notes
We reviewed more than 40 frequently cited universal, selective and indicated prevention trials for the introduction which we summarized in a Table. It is not a systematic review but it demonstrates how recruitment and attendance rates may be influenced by the type of prevention (universal, selective, indicated), targeted population characteristics (such as the child's developmental stage or the program target), intervention demands (i.e., how many sessions to commit to), recruitment setting (such as low SES factors) and recruitment method. This Table is available as a PDF document from the first author (n.heinrichs@tu-bs.de).
Item-by-item comparisons between Spoth et al. (1996) and our sample on reasons for non-participation in the project and the program, respectively, are also available as a PDF document.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This study was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG; German Research Foundation), HA 1400/14-1. We are very grateful to Don Baucom and Lynlee Tanner for their comments on earlier versions of this manuscript.
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Heinrichs, N., Bertram, H., Kuschel, A. et al. Parent Recruitment and Retention in a Universal Prevention Program for Child Behavior and Emotional Problems: Barriers to Research and Program Participation. Prev Sci 6, 275–286 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-005-0006-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-005-0006-1