Nurturing Parenting Programs and Over 35 Years of Evidence

History and Development of the Adult-Adolescent Parenting Inventory (AAPI) and the Nurturing Parenting Programs®.

Development of the Adult-Adolescent Parenting Inventory (AAPI)

In 1978, Dr. Bavolek developed the Adolescent Parenting Inventory (API) as a doctoral student at Utah State University. The Adolescent Parenting Inventory (API) was designed to assess the parenting beliefs and practices of abused and non-abused adolescents. Responses to the API would indicate the risk level of pre-parent teens in replicating the abusive and neglecting parenting practices they experienced during the process of growing up.

Critical to the study was identifying the parenting practices that represent child maltreatment. In essence, what are the practices of child abuse and neglect? Five specific behaviors were identified and validated from the on-going research with abused and non-abused teens. The constructs of child maltreatment are:

1. Inappropriate developmental expectations of children;
2. Parental lack of empathy for their own needs and for the needs of their children;
3. A strong belief in the use of corporal punishment as a means of punishing children for their disobedience;
4. Reversing parent-child roles leading to robbing the child of their childhood;
5. Oppressing children’s power and independence.

The research findings of the study indicated that teens with verified histories of abuse and neglect did indeed express significantly (P <.001) more abusive parenting beliefs in all five constructs than teens without verified histories of maltreatment. Gender also indicated significant (P < .001) differences. Males as a population expressed more abusive parenting practices than females.

Research studies continued in assessing risk levels of adult and teen parent populations. Teen parents and adult parents charged with child abuse and/or neglect did indeed express significantly (P<.001) more abusive parenting beliefs and practices than adult and teen parents without verified charges of maltreatment.

Today, the Adult-Adolescent Parenting Inventory (AAPI-2) is widely utilized both nationally and internationally, having assessed nearly 3 million adults and teens since its initial development in 1978.

Development of the Nurturing Parenting Programs® (NPP)

In 1980, the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) funded a half-million dollar, six state research project to Dr. Stephen Bavolek while he was at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. The purpose of the research was to develop and validate a proven program to treat and prevent child abuse and neglect. The grant was awarded to Dr. Bavolek for his years of research in developing and validating the Adult-Adolescent Parenting Inventory (AAPI-2).

The Nurturing Parenting Program® (NPP) was developed and validated in 1983 utilizing the five parenting constructs of the AAPI to form the foundation of the lessons of the Nurturing Parenting Program®. In this manner, the AAPI provided the level of risk assessment and the Nurturing Parenting Program® provided the treatment. The NIMH study showed remarkable and significant changes in positive family interactions. Findings of the three year project included:

• A retention rate of 83% of DSS/DCF families completing the 15 session group-based program.
• Significant posttest gains in positive personality characteristics, family functioning, parenting beliefs and knowledge of proper (non-abusive) parenting strategies.
• Most importantly, longitudinal follow-up on recidivism rates was 7% of the 95 families completing the program.

Important to recognize that in the mid-1980s, no valid or published parenting programs were available for families charged with child maltreatment. The Nurturing Parenting Program® was the first family-based program designed specifically for parents who were identified as abusive and/or neglecting of their children (treatment) or who were high risk for child maltreatment (prevention/intervention).

The Recognition of Evidence-Based Programs: Nurturing Parenting Ratings

Based on the findings of the initial NIMH study, the Nurturing Parenting Program® for School Age Children was recognized by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP), and Substance Abuse, Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), and other government and state agencies as an evidence-based program; the only parenting program for the treatment of child abuse and neglect.

In November 2000,OJJDPdevoted an entire issue of their Newsletter to the quality of the Nurturing Parenting Program as a proven treatment program. Years later, the California Evidence Based Clearinghouse (CEBC) also recognized the research and findings of the Nurturing Parenting Programs® as evidence-based programs.

The National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices (NREPP) developed as a branch of SAMHSA also recognized the research findings and the effectiveness of the Nurturing Programs® as evidence-based programs. Over the years, thirty-five additional programs and studies have been conducted. The results of these studies are available on line attesting to the effectiveness of the Nurturing Parenting Programs®. Links are provided to NREPP web site and to the Summary Research Report of the Nurturing Programs, and to the CEBC web site.

Changing Criteria for Evidence-Based Status: Randomized Control Trial (RCT) Research Design

The field of parenting education, particularly as it pertains to providing parenting education to families charged with child abuse and neglect, is witnessing a dramatic change in what is being recognized as an evidence-based program.In conducting research to support the effectiveness of a program, there are essentially two categories of research design that are acceptable in the field: Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Designs for Research. The design most used in experimental studies is called Randomized Control Trial (RCT).

A book written in the 1960s by Donald T. Campbell and Julian C. Stanley called Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Designs for Research remains a classic in the field. According to Stanley and Campbell, RCTs are best used to test the efficacy or effectiveness of various types of medical interventions within a patient population. The key feature of the RCT is subjects for the study are assessed for eligibly and recruitment. Assessment of study subjects is an attempt to control for differences. After each subject is assessed, those who are accepted for suitability are randomly assigned to two groups:

• One group is assigned to receive the treatment while;
• The other group does not get any treatment.

Quasi-experimental research designs have a history of extensive use in social services. The most common quasi-experimental research designs are simple pre-posttest, posttest only, pre-posttest comparison groups, and pre-posttest comparison groups with longitudinal follow up. All four of these models are very acceptable research designs, especially when measuring the effectiveness of a treatment, or parenting program.

The California Evidence Based Clearinghouse (CEBC) along with the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) are two organizations that have changed their criteria for what constitutes “strong evidence supporting the efficacy of a program.” Both have adopted the RCT as their primary research model and their criteria for receiving the highest possible rating. CEBC has also included that the study’s results be published in a peer review journal with a time contingent of two years which helps determine if the study is acceptable for evidence based recognition.

Prior to this change, the Nurturing Parenting Programs® were highly rated, evidence-based programs for families receiving services in Child Welfare. After the adoption of the RCT model as evidence of programs effectiveness the Nurturing Program for Parents and their Infants, Toddlers and Preschoolers® is no longer afforded that designation.

RCT is reserved for trials that contain control groups in which groups receiving the experimental treatment are compared with control groups receiving no treatment. Withholding services from families who are mandated by the courts to complete parent education is ethically inappropriate, in addition to jeopardizing the health and lives of children.

The Nurturing Program® Research and the RCT Design

In 1980-83 when the first Nurturing Parenting Program® was developed and validated, there were no proven and published programs for families charged with child maltreatment. In essence, there was nothing to compare the results of families attending the Nurturing Program®. Families involved with Social Services for child maltreatment were not receiving parenting education from a validated, evidence-based parenting program. There were not any validated parenting programs on the market. A decision was made to run a quasi-experimental pre-posttest, longitudinal research design instead to test the effectiveness of the Nurturing Program®. The results were phenomenal.

Since the validation for the first Nurturing Parenting Program for Parents and their School age Children®, twenty additional Nurturing Programs have been developed and validated using the pre-posttest longitudinal follow-up quasi-experimental design. See the NPP validation report.

In the pre-posttest, longitudinal design research model, the criteria for effectiveness are the proven cessation of child maltreatment and the elimination of recidivism. It did not matter if the NPP was any better than no program if the child abuse continued. In essence, the effectiveness of the NPP was measured against the practices of maltreatment. Were the practices of maltreatment replaced with the practices of Nurturing Parenting? And what was the recidivism rate among parent(s) completing the NPP? The stated goal was a recidivism rate of 0. The outcome was a recidivism rate of 9%. At the time, the recidivism rate among families completing treatment for child abuse was between 25% to 47%.

Agencies that Support the Effectiveness of the Nurturing Programs® without RCTs

• National Registry for Evidence Based Programs and Practices (NREPP) rate all the Nurturing Programs at or near their highest standard.
• The United States Department of Defense (DoD) has adopted the Nurturing Parenting Program for Parents and their Infants, Toddlers and Preschoolers® as their program of choice for their New Parent Support Program (NPSP). The Nurturing Programs® have been used by the military for over 20 years. Currently, all brands of the military are using the Nurturing Programs® worldwide. The data indicate families are making significant pre-post gains.
• The First Five of California program has also adopted the Nurturing Program for Parents and their Infants, Toddlers and Preschoolers® for all their sites statewide. First Five had tried and failed with other nationally recognized programs with RCT research for families in the Welfare system.
• Birth and Beyond Home Visitation program of Sacramento completed 4,600 home visitations with parents serving 9,752 children. They implemented the NPP for Parents and their Infants, Toddlers and Preschoolers betweenthe years of 2010 and 2013. The recidivism rate of families dropped 85%; the percentage of families with substantiated CS reports dropped 88%; recidivism rates dropped 64%; and the data indicated that the more lessons the parents completed, the lower the levels of referrals to CPS post-program.
• The Nurturing Programs® are implemented throughout the State of Louisiana through the Department of Social Services. Analysis of the data conducted by Casey Foundation indicated dosage of sessions completed made a difference. The more sessions completed the less likely they were reported for child maltreatment six months after the completion of the program. Analysis of the data also found that program costs and cost savings were calculated with a benefit to cost ratio of 0.87 demonstrating that the Nurturing Program approaches cost-neutrality. The data also indicated a retention rate of 70% of program participants, a significantly higher rate than research on other programs implemented in child welfare systems.
• As of 2014, the State of Arkansas has received government funding to implement the Nurturing Programs for Parents and their School Age Children statewide through their Department of Social Services.
• The Children's Trust Funds of Kentucky and Tennessee are launching the Nurturing Programs statewide in the Spring/Summer/Fall of 2015. Colorado CTF for years has funded agencies within Colorado who implement the Nurturing Programs®.
• Cook County in Chicago is implementing a RCT study with the Nurturing Program® in their research to reduce the amount of out-of-home placements.
• The State of Oregon has also implemented an RCT study in implementing the Nurturing Program® testing whether Supervised Supervision with some families receiving the Nurturing lessons during supervision is more effective in preventing recidivism rates after reunification then families receiving traditional supervision.
• In a six year study from 1999 to 2005, the Florida State Department of Children and Families (DCF) conducted a statewide study designed to assess the effectiveness of parenting programs offered throughout the state to high risk families as well as families charged with child abuse and neglect.
• A total of 33,001 families and 22 programs participated in the study. Parents who completed the NPP for Parents and their Infants, Toddlers and Preschoolers had significantly higher posttest mean scores in each of the five parenting constructs of the AAPI than parents in the non-Nurturing Parenting Programs®.
• The Center for the Study Social Policy who embraces the trauma informed philosophy published an article on how the Nurturing Programs® link to the Strengthening Families Protective Factors Framework.
• WHAT WORKS, WISCONSIN Evidence Based Parenting Program Directory

Family Development Resources has been providing cost-effective, validated approaches to help treat and prevent child abuse and neglect for over 35 years. Families learn new attitudes and skills that reduce dysfunction in families, with follow-up studies indicating low rates of recidivism. The Nurturing Programs® have and will continue to make a significant contribution to the overall health and functioning of families.

The ratings remain very high for the Infant, Toddler and Preschooler Program as well as all the Nurturing Programs® as published in the National Registry of Evidence Based Programs and Practices (NREPP), the US Department for Defense and the hundreds of service providing agencies across the country.

Family Development Resources at 800.688.5822 or email us at fdr@nurturingparenting.com

Frequently Asked Research Questions

Q. Who is NREPP and what do the letters represent?*

Answer: OK now follow along closely because it gets a bit confusing:

1. In 1953, the Department of Health, Education and Welfare was developed (HEW). Years later, HEW was changed to Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).
2. DHHS created SAMHSA, Substance Abuse-Mental Health Services Administration.
3. Due to the overwhelming use of substances like alcohol, and other addictive drugs in the US, SAMHSA created CSAP, the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention.
4. In 1997, CSAP created NREPP which was then called the National Registry for Effective Prevention Program. Shortly thereafter, the meaning of NREPP changed again.
5. NREPP today stands for National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices.

Q. What does “Evidence-Based” mean?

Answer: As defined by SAMHSA (Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration) a program of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, in the health care field, evidence-based practice (also called EBP) generally refers to approaches to prevention or treatment that are validated by some form of documented scientific evidence. What counts as evidence can vary. The Nurturing Parenting Programs are all evidence-based programs.

Q. Are there any concerns or limitations to EBPs?

Answer: One concern often stated in the health care, mental health, and social work fields is too much emphasis on EBPs in some cases restrict practitioners from exercising their own judgment to provide the best care and treatment for individuals. For this reason, many organizations have adopted definitions of evidence-based practice that emphasize balancing the “scientific” with the “practical.”

Q. What does “fidelity to the model” mean?

Answer: Fidelity to the model occurs when implementers of research-based programs or interventions closely follow the protocols and techniques that are defined as part of the intervention. For example, conducting assessments and evaluations using the recommended or provided tools. Flexibility to fidelity occurs when differences among ethnic, racial, and/or linguistic groups and awareness of how people’s cultural background, beliefs, traditions, socioeconomic status, history, and other factors affect their needs and how they respond to services.

Q. Nurturing Programs are listed in NREPP under the category “Legacy Programs”. What does that mean and why did Nurturing and a few other programs get labeled as Legacy?

Answer: Between 1997 and 2004, programs were reviewed by SAMHSA and were rated Effective and/or Promising. After 2004, the rating criteria changed because the standard of “effectiveness” changed. Programs that were rated between 1997 and 2004 retained the label Legacy, referring to their measured effectiveness nearly 15 years ago.

*Information generated to reply to the aforementioned questions was taken from the 1/28/ 2010 NREPP and SAMHSA newsletter.

Q. Is the NPP curricula trauma-Informed?

Answer: Many trauma cases require counseling and/ or therapy from intense and long term to moderate and short term. Nurturing program are psycho-educational in their approach and can be used in conjunction with other services to help individuals suffering the effects of trauma. As a stand alone, the Nurturing Programs would not suitable as a treatment for individuals suffering from severe traumatic experiences.

Q. Explain the AAPI, NSCS and PARTI and how they interact with each other.

Answer: The Adult-Adolescent Parenting Inventory (AAPI) assess an individual's attitudes about raising children.

The Nurturing Skills Competency Scale (NSCS) provides a comprehensive profile of the individuals' present quality of life in addition to the quality of their childhood, the quality of their of the relationship with their children and with their adult partner. The NSCS also assesses an individuals' knowledge of parenting practices and the frequency in which the parents are utilizing these practices.

The Parenting Attitudes of Raising Teens Inventory (PARTI) assess the similarities and differences parents and their adolescents have regarding the life style of being a teen. Adolescence is a very fun but difficult period of development for many families. Differences in opinions, demands, dating, sexual activity, and independence often result in strained parent and teen relationships. The PARTI is a 40 item inventory designed to bring to awareness the similarities and differences parents and teens have as they both learn the skills of negotiation and compromise aimed at increasing the positive qualities of their relationship.

Q. Do the Nurturing Parenting Programs adhere to the Protective Factors? What are the protective factors?

Answer: The six Protective Factors developed by the Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP) is a research-informed, cost-effective strategy to increase family stability, enhance child development and reduce child abuse and neglect.. The six protective factors and integrated into the lessons of each of the Nurturing Programs. The six factors include: 1. Nurturing and Attachment; 2. Knowledge of Parenting and Youth Development; 3. Parental Resilience; 4. Social Connections; 5. Concrete Supports for Parents; Social and Emotional Competence of Children. The Nurturing Programs incorporate all of the Protective Factors in the lessons in each of the major Nurturing Programs.

Research and Validation Studies Summaries:

Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) Research Design Studies

Randomized Controlled Trial is a controlled trial study in which participants are assigned to a study group. In a randomized controlled trial, participants are assigned to treatment conditions at random. Procedures are controlled to ensure that all participants in all study groups are treated the same except for the factor that is unique to their group. The unique factor is the type of intervention they receive.

The primary goal of conducting an RCT is to test whether an intervention works by comparing it to a control condition, usually either no intervention or an alternative intervention.

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Research and Validation Studies Summaries:

Pre-Post Test Design Studies

Pre-Post is essentially administering the AAPI and NSCS before a Nurturing Parenting Program begins and when it ends to measure statistically significant gains made by the parents. This is a basic research design.

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Research and Validation Studies Summaries:

Comparative Program Design Studies

Comparative studies compares the effectiveness of the Nurturing Parenting Program with another program to determine which program received better gains.

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Research and Validation Studies Summaries:

Pre-Post Longitudinal Follow-Up Studies

Pre-Post with Longitudinal Follow-Up assesses whether the gains made at posttest have been maintained by either administering a third AAPI at test for differences from posttest to longitudinal testing usually anywhere from 6 months to 2 years after the last class ended.

The key to this model is to determine if families have been re-charged with Child Abuse or Neglect since they ended their program. The goal of Nurturing Parenting Program is to stop the re-abuse of children in families who completed the Nurturing Parenting Program.

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Research Studies Utilizing the AAPI

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Questions on the Nurturing Parenting Programs?

The Nurturing Parenting Programs are a family-centered trauma-informed initiative designed to build nurturing parenting skills as an alternative to abusive and neglecting parenting and child-rearing practices. The long term goals are to prevent recidivism in families receiving social services, lower the rate of multi-parent teenage pregnancies, reduce the rate of juvenile delinquency and alcohol abuse, and stop the intergenerational cycle of child abuse by teaching positive parenting behaviors.

Seven things you should know about Nurturing Parenting Programs...

1. There are Approximately Thirty Nurturing Programs:

   Family Development Resources is committed to meeting the unique needs of families. To this end, approximately 30 programs or program models are available that are designed to meet the family’s educational learning styles and abilities; the family’s culture and language; the ages of the children as well as the ages of the parents.

   The first step in implementing the Nurturing Parenting Programs is to select the right program(s) for the families you are serving.

2. Nurturing Programs: Three Levels of Prevention and Session Dosage

   The Nurturing Parenting Programs are designed to meet the family’s needs based on their parenting strengths and weaknesses. Nurturing Parenting Programs are designed for each of the three levels of prevention, commonly recognized in the fields of social work, mental health, and medicine: primary, secondary and tertiary. Dosage is a term used to indicate the number of sessions or length of a program. Dosage is also related to the three levels of prevention.

3. Nurturing Program Sessions are delivered in Three Program Models

   Each of the following program models are effective in the right setting and have their own unique advantages.

   • Model #1 One-to-one in Home, Office or Classroom
     The most common and most effective one-to-one instructional model is offering the parenting lessons in the family’s home. Home-based programs are very common for parents with young children from birth to 5 years. The home-based approach allows the parent educator to observe the family and practice the skills in their home setting.

     The instructor’s office or the school classroom doesn’t provide the intimacy that a home setting provides, but can be effective locations for parents who are overwhelmed or easily distracted in group settings. The advantage is the instructor can control the amount of distraction that goes on by meeting in the office or classroom.

   • Model #2 Group-Based Setting
     Group-based settings have several advantages: they are a cost effective way of delivering education in a ratio of one instructor to 10 parents; socialization with other parents meets one of the Protective Factors; parents can passively learn from the questions and issues the other parents bring to the group; a multi-cultural group broadens the parents’ cultural diversity; and in Nurturing Parenting group-based programs, the parents and children meet in separate groups that run concurrently which allow the parents to have the opportunity to engage in learning without the distractions that children often present.

   • Model #3 Combination Group-Based Program with Home-Based Session
     Taking the best characteristics from Models 1 and 2, Model 3 allows socialization with other parents and the opportunity to learn without the distractions of the children being present. Parents are also engaged in home-based sessions to ensure the knowledge and skills being presented in the group sessions are practiced and utilized within their family.

4. Nurturing Program Lessons are Competency Based

   Each lesson offered in the Nurturing Programs has identified competencies the parents need to learn and the instructors need to teach in order for parenting practices to improve. The lesson competencies keep both the parent and the instructor on track making sure learning is occurring. The individual lessons, assessments, evaluations and home practice assignments are all designed to ensure parents are acquiring the stated competencies.

   In competency based learning, if the parents do not display an understanding or proper utilization of the information and skills presented in the lesson, the lesson is repeated until the competencies have been learned and mastered.

5. Nurturing Programs have built-in Assessment and Evaluation Practices

   Assessment is a process where Instructors of the Nurturing Programs gather information from families in order to learn more about them. Such data would include information about their current life conditions, their childhood, their relationship with their partner, their relationship with their children, how much they already know about parenting, and the beliefs they have about raising children. Assessments in the Nurturing Programs occur at three times:

   • PRE, at the beginning of the program;
   • PROCESS, during the entire program; and
   • POST, toward the end of program.

   Evaluation is a process that measures the degree of acquisition and accuracy of new knowledge and new skills made by the parents. It also measures the effectiveness of the instructor’s abilities to present new concepts and new skills to parents in a manner that allows the parents to increase their understanding of the new concepts and value the utilization of the new skills. Teaching and learning are partners in a relationship of dependency. Neither one works as well alone as they do together.

   Assessment and Evaluation data are gathered using valid and reliable self-report inventories and rating scales, as well as observing parent-child interactions. All the data collection is designed to ensure parents are acquiring the knowledge and skills in developing their nurturing parenting competencies.

6. Pre and Post Program Assessment and Evaluation Measures

   The Nurturing Programs incorporate three pre and posttest self-report assessment measures:

   Adult-Adolescent Parenting Inventory (AAPI) is a 40 item, norm-referenced, Likert scale designed to assess the parenting beliefs and practices of adult and adolescent parent and non-parent populations. The AAPI is designed to assess the beliefs for parenting children from infancy to 12 years of age. Responses to the AAPI provide an index of risk for child maltreatment in five parenting practices known to result in child maltreatment. These practices are presented as Constructs:

   1. Developmental Expectations;
   2. Parental Level of Empathy;
   3. Belief in the use of Corporal Punishment;
   4. Reversing Parent-Child Family Roles; and
   5. Oppressing Children’s Power and Independence.

   Responses to the AAPI provide a level of risk for child maltreatment on three levels: High, Moderate and Low. These levels of risk on the AAPI coordinate with the levels of prevention and dosage of lessons presented in the Nurturing Parenting Programs.

   Form A and Form B: There are two versions of the AAPI: Version A and Version B. Using alternate forms of the AAPI to gather pre and post program responses reduces the likelihood of increased positive parenting responses based on practice in completing the same inventory multiple times.

   Parenting Attitudes about Raising Teens Inventory (PARTI) is a norm- reference Likert scale designed to assess the parenting beliefs and practices of raising adolescent’s ages 12 to 20 years of age. There are two versions of the PARTI: one version for the Parents and one version for the Teens. Data generated from the administration of the PARTI can be useful in several settings:

   • Assessing both Parents and their Teens. Parent-teen differences are legendary. Responses to the PARTI are presented on individual and combined profiles allowing teens and their parents to observe the similarities and differences in their beliefs.
   • Assessing Parents only. A visual view of the beliefs parents have of raising teens can provide them with an understanding how today’s generation of teens are very different from their generation. Responses can also provide parents the opportunity to examine how similar and different they are from their partner in parenting their teen.
   • Assessing Teens only. Ideal for use with teens in school settings, detention and residential settings. Responses to the PARTI provide teens an opportunity to examine personal beliefs and behaviors that may have contributed to their social and emotional dysfunctional behavior.
   • Expectant Teen Partners: Partners can increase their awareness of their similarities and differences in their beliefs of being a teen. Awareness can prevent conflicts in beliefs from forming unspoken differences that may work to sabotage their young relationship.

   Responses to the PARTI are entered in the computer and a parenting profile is created reflecting the similarities and differences between the parents and their teens. Responses are presented in five categories:

   • Familial and developmental expectations;
   • Feelings of empathy for one another and for family;
   • Discipline beliefs and strategies;
   • Familial roles and expectations of teens and parents; and
   • Expectations of freedom and independence of teens and their parents.

   These responses provide an index and level of conflict and agreement: high, moderate and low levels of conflict or agreement.

   The Nurturing Skills Competency Scale (NSCS) is a criterion-referenced scale designed to gather information in six constructs that can have a significant role in family dysfunction including child abuse and neglect and intimate partner violence. The six constructs of the NSCS are:

   • My current lifestyle and living conditions;
   • My childhood and relationships with my parents;
   • My relationship with the father/mother of my children or current partner;
   • My relationship with my children and family;
   • My knowledge of nurturing parenting practices;
   • My Utilization of nurturing parenting strategies and skills.

   There are two different versions of the NSCS that are designed for two different populations of parents you might be working with:

   • Long Version (LV) The LV version is particularly useful in assessing individuals and family members with a high risk for child maltreatment; who are currently receiving child welfare services for abuse or neglect; who are ordered to attend parenting classes; who have a history of violence towards children and spouses/partners; or who have come to the attention of social services in need of parenting education. The LV has approximately 80 items that address all six constructs presented above. Different NSCS’s are developed for each nurturing program and may have a different number of items. The information generated from the NSCS-LV is presented on a parenting profile. Responses per construct range from Below Average to Average to Above Average.
   • Short Version (SV) is ideally suited for average families who are not receiving services for child abuse and neglect, who have not been referred for parenting education, and who have no reportable history of domestic violence. The SV with approximately 50 items is designed primarily for use with low-risk, or average families not receiving or referred for parenting education. The SV provides a parenting profile with scores in three of the six NSCS constructs: Construct A: About My Life; Construct E: My Knowledge of Nurturing Parenting Practices; and Construct F: My utilization of Nurturing Skills.

7. As parent educators, we want to make sure the parents are learning the knowledge and skills presented in the program. Gathering information during the program to ensure parents are learning is called process evaluation. Process evaluation occurs at the end of each class session. If the parent has not adequately learned the information and skills, the lesson is repeated. There are three process evaluation measures used in the Nurturing Programs.

   • The Family Nurturing Plan (FNP) is a document the PARENT EDUCATORS USE to measure the ongoing progress the parents are making. A FNP is developed for each family at the beginning of the program. The FNP lists the lessons to be taught; the lesson competencies to be learned; the home practice assignments to be completed between program sessions: and ratings and questions the instructors use to assess how well the parents have learned the information and acquired the new skills. The FNP also becomes a contract between the parent and the Instructor. FNP’s are specific to each different Nurturing Program.
   • The Family Nurturing Journal (FNJ) is a document the PARENTS USE to monitor their progress in learning the program competencies. Parents know the lesson competencies they are responsible for learning as well as the home practice assignments they are to complete between classes. To monitor their progress, parents keep a weekly journal of the changes happening to them, their children and their family. FNJs are specific to each different Nurturing Program.

   Individual Session Evaluations are utilized in group-based programs. Towards the end of each session, parents rate the degree they feel they have learned each of the specific lesson competencies. A rating of 0 means the parent has “not learned the competency at all”; 1 indicates the parent has learned the competency “a little bit”; 2 indicates “pretty good” understanding of the competency; and 3 indicates the parent has a “really good” understanding and grasp of the lesson competency.

   Concurrently, the instructors are also rating each parent on how well they learned each of the lesson competencies. Ratings by the instructors occur when parents are demonstrating skills with their child (ren) during Family Nurturing Time, and/or how well they do in explaining concepts during class time.

National Recognition and International Utilization

The Nurturing Parenting Programs are recognized by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the National Registry for Evidence-based Parenting Programs (NREPP), and a number of state and local agencies as proven programs for the prevention and treatment of child abuse and neglect.

The Departments of the Army and Navy utilize the Nurturing Parenting Program to enhance parenting skills for first time parents in bases worldwide.

National Training Workshops and Consultant Listing

Located in our Training Resources Section is a listing of our national training workshops and a listing of trainers in your state. Learn how to have you and your colleagues trained in the Nurturing Parenting Programs!

National Registries and Resources:

National Registries and Protective Factors

The Evidence-Based Nurturing Parenting Programs are building Protective Factors in families that when present increase the health and well-being of children and families.

Beginning in 2014 through 2015, NREPP went through a major redesign and relaunch. Beginning on November 23, 2015, all reviewed programs on NREPP refer to those that have been reviewed under the new guidelines published in the July 7, 2015 Federal Register. The 356 programs reviewed under the previous criteria are now referred to as “legacy” programs and will be re-reviewed under the new guidelines over the next 4 years (2015 through 2018).

The following reports are listed below and on NREPP's website:

Boston Consortium Model (PDF - 65 KB)
NREPP Reviewing Nurturing Parenting Programs (PDF - 213 KB)

National Registry of Evidence Based Programs & Practices (NREPP)
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)

The Nurturing Parenting Programs are recognized internationally as valid and reliable programs offered in different Home Based, Group Based and a combination Home Based and Group Based models. Based on the number of sessions (dosage), Nurturing Parenting Programs are designed for Primary Prevention (education); Secondary Prevention (intervention); and Tertiary Prevention (treatment).

Nurturing Parenting Programs meet and exceed the Six Protective Factors identified by the government for the prevention and treatment of Child Abuse and Neglect. The below articles provide you with additional information for grant applications.

Feel free to make copies for distribution, to forward to your state CAN agencies, to review at meetings, to send to state and federal congressional leaders.

Nurturing Parenting Programs are Building Protective Factors in Families (PDF - 1.5 MB)
Nurturing Parenting Programs & Strengthening Families (PDF - 69 KB)
Nurturing Parenting Programs Comprehensive Review (PDF - 550 KB)

National Registries and Resources:

California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse

Website: The California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare

Nurturing Programs Rated:

• Parents and their Infants, Toddlers, and Preschoolers
• Parents and their School-age Children 5 to 12 Years
• Families in Substance Abuse Treatment and Recovery
• ABC's for Parents & Their Children 5 to 8 Years

Child Welfare Outcomes: Safety and child/family well-being.

Type of Maltreatment: Emotional abuse, Exposure to domestic violence, Physical abuse, and Physical neglect

Target Population: Parents who are at high-risk for, or have substantiated reports of, child maltreatment

Brief Description: (The information in this program outline is provided by the program representative and edited by the CEBC staff.)

The Nurturing Parenting Programs have been rated by the CEBC in the areas of Parent Training and Prevention (Secondary). The Nurturing Parenting Programs are family-based programs utilized for the treatment and prevention of child abuse and neglect. Program sessions are offered in group-based and home-based formats ranging from 12 to 48 sessions. Programs are designed for parents with young children birth to 5 years old, school-aged children 5 to 11 years old, and teens 12 to 18 years old. In addition, programs for children 5 to 11 years old and teens 12 to 18 years old are also offered. Parents and their children meet in separate groups that meet concurrently.

Developed from the known behaviors that contribute to the maltreatment of children, the goals of the curriculum are: 1) to teach age-appropriate expectations and neurological development of children; 2) to develop empathy and self worth in parents and children; 3) to utilize nurturing, non-violent strategies and techniques in establishing family discipline; 4) to empower parents and children to utilize their personal power to make healthy choices; and 5) to increase awareness of self and others in developing positive patterns of communication while establishing healthy, caring relationships.

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Nurturing Program Logic Model

Download PDF: Logic Model for the Nurturing Parenting Programs

Program Name: Nurturing Parenting Programs

Program Vision: The Nurturing Parenting Programs are built on the premise that the maltreatment of children can be treated and prevented through the systematic application of family based programs designed to replace old and unwanted and hurtful patterns of parenting with newer, healthier patterns of prenatal bonding and neonatal attachment; empathy that positively responds to the needs of children; discipline that maintains the dignity of children; self-awareness and enlightenment of the adults’ own personal childhood; and a sense of empowerment to make good choices that promote personal and community health.

The Nurturing Parenting Programs are evidenced based programs designed for the primary, secondary and tertiary Prevention of child abuse and neglect... Read the entire article.

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Substance Abuse Treatment and Prevention

Boston Consortium Model

Bibliography of Related Studies

Integrating Parenting Into Substance Abuse Treatment for Various Populations (2003)

Parenting training for women in residential substance abuse treatment

Nurturing Families Affected by Substance Abuse, Mental Illness & Trauma

Parenting Services for Families Affected by Substance Abuse. Published in 2001 in Child Welfare, Volume 80, Issue 2, pages 221-238

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International Registries

Canadian Best Practices Portal

Nurturing Parenting Programs and Over 35 Years of Evidence

History and Development of the Adult-Adolescent Parenting Inventory (AAPI) and the Nurturing Parenting Programs®.

Development of the Adult-Adolescent Parenting Inventory (AAPI)

In 1978, Dr. Bavolek developed the Adolescent Parenting Inventory (API) as a doctoral student at Utah State University. The Adolescent Parenting Inventory (API) was designed to assess the parenting beliefs and practices of abused and non-abused adolescents. Responses to the API would indicate the risk level of pre-parent teens in replicating the abusive and neglecting parenting practices they experienced during the process of growing up.

Critical to the study was identifying the parenting practices that represent child maltreatment. In essence, what are the practices of child abuse and neglect? Five specific behaviors were identified and validated from the on-going research with abused and non-abused teens. The constructs of child maltreatment are:

1. Inappropriate developmental expectations of children;
2. Parental lack of empathy for their own needs and for the needs of their children;
3. A strong belief in the use of corporal punishment as a means of punishing children for their disobedience;
4. Reversing parent-child roles leading to robbing the child of their childhood;
5. Oppressing children’s power and independence.

The research findings of the study indicated that teens with verified histories of abuse and neglect did indeed express significantly (P <.001) more abusive parenting beliefs in all five constructs than teens without verified histories of maltreatment. Gender also indicated significant (P < .001) differences. Males as a population expressed more abusive parenting practices than females.

Research studies continued in assessing risk levels of adult and teen parent populations. Teen parents and adult parents charged with child abuse and/or neglect did indeed express significantly (P<.001) more abusive parenting beliefs and practices than adult and teen parents without verified charges of maltreatment.

Today, the Adult-Adolescent Parenting Inventory (AAPI-2) is widely utilized both nationally and internationally, having assessed nearly 3 million adults and teens since its initial development in 1978.

Development of the Nurturing Parenting Programs® (NPP)

In 1980, the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) funded a half-million dollar, six state research project to Dr. Stephen Bavolek while he was at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. The purpose of the research was to develop and validate a proven program to treat and prevent child abuse and neglect. The grant was awarded to Dr. Bavolek for his years of research in developing and validating the Adult-Adolescent Parenting Inventory (AAPI-2).

The Nurturing Parenting Program® (NPP) was developed and validated in 1983 utilizing the five parenting constructs of the AAPI to form the foundation of the lessons of the Nurturing Parenting Program®. In this manner, the AAPI provided the level of risk assessment and the Nurturing Parenting Program® provided the treatment. The NIMH study showed remarkable and significant changes in positive family interactions. Findings of the three year project included:

• A retention rate of 83% of DSS/DCF families completing the 15 session group-based program.
• Significant posttest gains in positive personality characteristics, family functioning, parenting beliefs and knowledge of proper (non-abusive) parenting strategies.
• Most importantly, longitudinal follow-up on recidivism rates was 7% of the 95 families completing the program.

Important to recognize that in the mid-1980s, no valid or published parenting programs were available for families charged with child maltreatment. The Nurturing Parenting Program® was the first family-based program designed specifically for parents who were identified as abusive and/or neglecting of their children (treatment) or who were high risk for child maltreatment (prevention/intervention).

The Recognition of Evidence-Based Programs: Nurturing Parenting Ratings

Based on the findings of the initial NIMH study, the Nurturing Parenting Program® for School Age Children was recognized by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP), and Substance Abuse, Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), and other government and state agencies as an evidence-based program; the only parenting program for the treatment of child abuse and neglect.

In November 2000,OJJDPdevoted an entire issue of their Newsletter to the quality of the Nurturing Parenting Program as a proven treatment program. Years later, the California Evidence Based Clearinghouse (CEBC) also recognized the research and findings of the Nurturing Parenting Programs® as evidence-based programs.

The National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices (NREPP) developed as a branch of SAMHSA also recognized the research findings and the effectiveness of the Nurturing Programs® as evidence-based programs. Over the years, thirty-five additional programs and studies have been conducted. The results of these studies are available on line attesting to the effectiveness of the Nurturing Parenting Programs®. Links are provided to NREPP web site and to the Summary Research Report of the Nurturing Programs, and to the CEBC web site.

Changing Criteria for Evidence-Based Status: Randomized Control Trial (RCT) Research Design

The field of parenting education, particularly as it pertains to providing parenting education to families charged with child abuse and neglect, is witnessing a dramatic change in what is being recognized as an evidence-based program.In conducting research to support the effectiveness of a program, there are essentially two categories of research design that are acceptable in the field: Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Designs for Research. The design most used in experimental studies is called Randomized Control Trial (RCT).

A book written in the 1960s by Donald T. Campbell and Julian C. Stanley called Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Designs for Research remains a classic in the field. According to Stanley and Campbell, RCTs are best used to test the efficacy or effectiveness of various types of medical interventions within a patient population. The key feature of the RCT is subjects for the study are assessed for eligibly and recruitment. Assessment of study subjects is an attempt to control for differences. After each subject is assessed, those who are accepted for suitability are randomly assigned to two groups:

• One group is assigned to receive the treatment while;
• The other group does not get any treatment.

Quasi-experimental research designs have a history of extensive use in social services. The most common quasi-experimental research designs are simple pre-posttest, posttest only, pre-posttest comparison groups, and pre-posttest comparison groups with longitudinal follow up. All four of these models are very acceptable research designs, especially when measuring the effectiveness of a treatment, or parenting program.

The California Evidence Based Clearinghouse (CEBC) along with the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) are two organizations that have changed their criteria for what constitutes “strong evidence supporting the efficacy of a program.” Both have adopted the RCT as their primary research model and their criteria for receiving the highest possible rating. CEBC has also included that the study’s results be published in a peer review journal with a time contingent of two years which helps determine if the study is acceptable for evidence based recognition.

Prior to this change, the Nurturing Parenting Programs® were highly rated, evidence-based programs for families receiving services in Child Welfare. After the adoption of the RCT model as evidence of programs effectiveness the Nurturing Program for Parents and their Infants, Toddlers and Preschoolers® is no longer afforded that designation.

RCT is reserved for trials that contain control groups in which groups receiving the experimental treatment are compared with control groups receiving no treatment. Withholding services from families who are mandated by the courts to complete parent education is ethically inappropriate, in addition to jeopardizing the health and lives of children.

The Nurturing Program® Research and the RCT Design

In 1980-83 when the first Nurturing Parenting Program® was developed and validated, there were no proven and published programs for families charged with child maltreatment. In essence, there was nothing to compare the results of families attending the Nurturing Program®. Families involved with Social Services for child maltreatment were not receiving parenting education from a validated, evidence-based parenting program. There were not any validated parenting programs on the market. A decision was made to run a quasi-experimental pre-posttest, longitudinal research design instead to test the effectiveness of the Nurturing Program®. The results were phenomenal.

Since the validation for the first Nurturing Parenting Program for Parents and their School age Children®, twenty additional Nurturing Programs have been developed and validated using the pre-posttest longitudinal follow-up quasi-experimental design. See the NPP validation report.

In the pre-posttest, longitudinal design research model, the criteria for effectiveness are the proven cessation of child maltreatment and the elimination of recidivism. It did not matter if the NPP was any better than no program if the child abuse continued. In essence, the effectiveness of the NPP was measured against the practices of maltreatment. Were the practices of maltreatment replaced with the practices of Nurturing Parenting? And what was the recidivism rate among parent(s) completing the NPP? The stated goal was a recidivism rate of 0. The outcome was a recidivism rate of 9%. At the time, the recidivism rate among families completing treatment for child abuse was between 25% to 47%.

Agencies that Support the Effectiveness of the Nurturing Programs® without RCTs

• National Registry for Evidence Based Programs and Practices (NREPP) rate all the Nurturing Programs at or near their highest standard.
• The United States Department of Defense (DoD) has adopted the Nurturing Parenting Program for Parents and their Infants, Toddlers and Preschoolers® as their program of choice for their New Parent Support Program (NPSP). The Nurturing Programs® have been used by the military for over 20 years. Currently, all brands of the military are using the Nurturing Programs® worldwide. The data indicate families are making significant pre-post gains.
• The First Five of California program has also adopted the Nurturing Program for Parents and their Infants, Toddlers and Preschoolers® for all their sites statewide. First Five had tried and failed with other nationally recognized programs with RCT research for families in the Welfare system.
• Birth and Beyond Home Visitation program of Sacramento completed 4,600 home visitations with parents serving 9,752 children. They implemented the NPP for Parents and their Infants, Toddlers and Preschoolers betweenthe years of 2010 and 2013. The recidivism rate of families dropped 85%; the percentage of families with substantiated CS reports dropped 88%; recidivism rates dropped 64%; and the data indicated that the more lessons the parents completed, the lower the levels of referrals to CPS post-program.
• The Nurturing Programs® are implemented throughout the State of Louisiana through the Department of Social Services. Analysis of the data conducted by Casey Foundation indicated dosage of sessions completed made a difference. The more sessions completed the less likely they were reported for child maltreatment six months after the completion of the program. Analysis of the data also found that program costs and cost savings were calculated with a benefit to cost ratio of 0.87 demonstrating that the Nurturing Program approaches cost-neutrality. The data also indicated a retention rate of 70% of program participants, a significantly higher rate than research on other programs implemented in child welfare systems.
• As of 2014, the State of Arkansas has received government funding to implement the Nurturing Programs for Parents and their School Age Children statewide through their Department of Social Services.
• The Children's Trust Funds of Kentucky and Tennessee are launching the Nurturing Programs statewide in the Spring/Summer/Fall of 2015. Colorado CTF for years has funded agencies within Colorado who implement the Nurturing Programs®.
• Cook County in Chicago is implementing a RCT study with the Nurturing Program® in their research to reduce the amount of out-of-home placements.
• The State of Oregon has also implemented an RCT study in implementing the Nurturing Program® testing whether Supervised Supervision with some families receiving the Nurturing lessons during supervision is more effective in preventing recidivism rates after reunification then families receiving traditional supervision.
• In a six year study from 1999 to 2005, the Florida State Department of Children and Families (DCF) conducted a statewide study designed to assess the effectiveness of parenting programs offered throughout the state to high risk families as well as families charged with child abuse and neglect.
• A total of 33,001 families and 22 programs participated in the study. Parents who completed the NPP for Parents and their Infants, Toddlers and Preschoolers had significantly higher posttest mean scores in each of the five parenting constructs of the AAPI than parents in the non-Nurturing Parenting Programs®.
• The Center for the Study Social Policy who embraces the trauma informed philosophy published an article on how the Nurturing Programs® link to the Strengthening Families Protective Factors Framework.
• WHAT WORKS, WISCONSIN Evidence Based Parenting Program Directory

Family Development Resources has been providing cost-effective, validated approaches to help treat and prevent child abuse and neglect for over 35 years. Families learn new attitudes and skills that reduce dysfunction in families, with follow-up studies indicating low rates of recidivism. The Nurturing Programs® have and will continue to make a significant contribution to the overall health and functioning of families.

The ratings remain very high for the Infant, Toddler and Preschooler Program as well as all the Nurturing Programs® as published in the National Registry of Evidence Based Programs and Practices (NREPP), the US Department for Defense and the hundreds of service providing agencies across the country.

Family Development Resources at 800.688.5822 or email us at fdr@nurturingparenting.com

Research and Validation Studies Summaries:

Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) Research Design Studies

Randomized Controlled Trial is a controlled trial study in which participants are assigned to a study group. In a randomized controlled trial, participants are assigned to treatment conditions at random. Procedures are controlled to ensure that all participants in all study groups are treated the same except for the factor that is unique to their group. The unique factor is the type of intervention they receive.

The primary goal of conducting an RCT is to test whether an intervention works by comparing it to a control condition, usually either no intervention or an alternative intervention.

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Pre-Post Test Design Studies

Pre-Post is essentially administering the AAPI and NSCS before a Nurturing Parenting Program begins and when it ends to measure statistically significant gains made by the parents. This is a basic research design.

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Comparative Program Design Studies

Comparative studies compares the effectiveness of the Nurturing Parenting Program with another program to determine which program received better gains.

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Pre-Post Longitudinal Follow-Up Studies

Pre-Post with Longitudinal Follow-Up assesses whether the gains made at posttest have been maintained by either administering a third AAPI at test for differences from posttest to longitudinal testing usually anywhere from 6 months to 2 years after the last class ended.

The key to this model is to determine if families have been re-charged with Child Abuse or Neglect since they ended their program. The goal of Nurturing Parenting Program is to stop the re-abuse of children in families who completed the Nurturing Parenting Program.

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Research Studies Utilizing the AAPI

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Adult Adolescent Parenting Inventory (AAPI)

The AAPI-2 is an inventory designed to assess the parenting and child rearing attitudes of adult and adolescent parent and pre-parent populations. Based on the known parenting and child rearing behaviors of abusive parents, responses to the inventory provide an index of risk for practicing behaviors known to be attributable to child abuse and neglect.

Valid and Reliable Inventories used to Assess Parenting Attitudes, Knowledge and History.

The Benefits of Assessment

• Measure the pre and post effectiveness of your parenting program
• Determine parenting strengths and areas that need improvement
• Increase the probability of funding with built-in pre-process-post assessment

The Levels of Assessment

• Pre: Data collected prior to the formal start of your program to determine entry level capabilities
• Process: Data collected during the program to monitor ongoing growth and changes
• Post: Data collected at the completion of your program to determine the level of growth and future intervention needs of the family

Types of Assessment

• Knowledge: What do parents and teens know of appropriate parenting practices?
• Attitudes: What attitudes do parents and teens express about raising children?
• History: What childhood history do parents and teens have that affects their parenting?

Sub-Scales - Responses to the AAPI-2 provide an index of risk in five specific parenting and child rearing behaviors:

• Construct A - Inappropriate Expectations of Children
• Construct B - Parental Lack of Empathy Towards Children's Needs
• Construct C - Strong Parental Belief in the Use of Corporal Punishment
• Construct D - Reversing Parent-Child Family Roles
• Construct E - Oppressing Children's Power and Independence

Intended Populations - Adult parent and pre-parent populations as well as adolescent parent and pre-parent populations as young as 13 years old.

Reading Level - The AAPI-2 has an assessed fifth grade reading level.

Validity and Reliability - The AAPI-2, like its predecessor the AAPI, is a validated and reliable inventory used to assess parenting attitudes. Over 20 years of research with the AAPI indicate:

• Abusive parents express significantly more abusive attitudes than non-abusive parents
• Males, regardless of status (abusive or non-abusive) express significantly more abusive parenting attitudes than females
• Adolescents with histories of being abused express significantly more abusive parenting attitudes than non-abused adolescents
• Male adolescents express significantly more abusive parenting attitudes than female adolescents
• Each of the five parenting constructs of the AAPI-2, forming the five sub-scales of the inventory, show significant diagnostic and discriminatory validity. That is, responses to the inventory discriminate between the parenting behaviors of known abusive parents and the behaviors of non-abusive parents. These findings hold true for abused adolescents and non-abused adolescents.

Benefits of AAPI-2 OnLine (AssessingParenting.com)
Available in English, Spanish, Kreyol, Korean, Arabic

1. Administer and Score the AAPI Anytime. The AAPI OnLine is available 24 hours a day.
2. Cost Savings. Enter data one time only and export immediately!
3. Accuracy. Let the AAPI OnLine do the scoring for you. Scoring errors go down: accuracy goes up.
4. Data Privacy. Only the agency staff assigned to the account will have access to your data. Agencies create their own personal user name and password for security.
5. Data Export. The AAPI OnLine allows you to export saved data into an excel program that converts easily to other statistical programs for more in-depth analyses.
6. Individual and Group Profiles. AAPI OnLine provides you with scored copies of the Parenting Profile, along with the numeric value of each item's response.
7. Manage Data by Program. All data are stored in Programs. Programs are the various interventions offered by an agency. Storing data by Programs allows agency staff to review the outcome data of specific interventions.
8. Clinical Interpretation of Parenting Profiles. Information is provided to interpret the profiles and to create an effective intervention designed to build positive, nurturing parenting behaviors.
9. Download Test Forms. Once you establish an AAPI OnLine account, you will receive a bounce back activation email that allows you to download and print all the forms.
10. Data Storage. At the end of each Program, staff is encouraged to download and save their data.

AAPI Description

Description - The AAPI-2 is an inventory designed to assess the parenting and child rearing attitudes of adult and adolescent parent and pre-parent populations. Based on the known parenting and child rearing behaviors of abusive parents, responses to the inventory provide an index of risk for practicing behaviors known to be attributable to child abuse and neglect. The AAPI-2 is the revised and re-normed version of the original AAPI first developed in 1979.

Sub-Scales - Responses to the AAPI-2 provide an index of risk in five specific parenting and child rearing behaviors:

• Construct A - Expectations of Children
• Construct B - Empathy Towards Children's Needs
• Construct C - Use of Corporal Punishment as a Means of Discipline
• Construct D - Parent-Child Role Responsibilities
• Construct E - Children's Power and Independence

Intended Populations - Both adult parent and pre-parent populations as well as adolescent parent and pre-parent populations. Adolescents as young as 13 years old can respond to the AAPI-2.

Forms and Items - There are two forms of the AAPI-2 – Form A and Form B. Each inventory has 40 different items presented in a five-point Likert scale from Strongly Agree to Strongly Disagree.

Administration - The AAPI-2 takes approximately 20 minutes to be administered. It can be administered in a small group setting or individually. Individuals circle the response (SA = Strong Agree; A = Agree; U = Uncertain; D = Disagree; SD = Strongly Disagree) they feel best represents their parenting attitudes.

Reading Level - The AAPI-2 has an assessed fifth grade reading level. The AAPI-2 can be read orally to non-readers.

Scoring - Responses to the items of the AAPI-2 each carry a numerical value of 1 to 5 determined by placing the plastic scoring stencil over the test form. The numerical values are recorded on the AAPI-2 Profile Worksheet for each of the five subscales.

The five subscales total raw scores are calculated by adding the numerical values. Raw score totals for each subscale are converted into standard scores forming the norm tables of the AAPI. The standard scores are plotted on the AAPI-2 Parenting Profile providing an index of risk for abusive and/or neglecting behaviors.

Norm Tables - Norm tables are available for parent and adolescent parent and adolescent non-parent populations.

Validity and Reliability - The AAPI-2 , like its predecessor the AAPI, is a validated and reliable inventory used to assess parenting attitudes. Over 20 years of research with the AAPI indicate:

• Abusive parents express significantly (p<.001) more abusive attitudes than non-abusive parents.
• Males, regardless of status (abusive or non-abusive) express significantly (p<.001) more abusive parenting attitudes than females.
• Adolescents with histories of being abused express significantly (p<.001) more abusive parenting attitudes than non-abused adolescents.
• Male adolescents express significantly (p<.001) more abusive parenting attitudes than female adolescents.
• Each of the five parenting constructs of the AAPI-2, forming the five sub-scales of the inventory, show significant diagnostic and discriminatory validity. That is, responses to the inventory discriminate between the parenting behaviors of known abusive parents and the behaviors of non-abusive parents. These findings hold true for abused adolescents and non-abused adolescents.

Research Studies Utilizing the AAPI

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