Children's story stem responses: a measure of program impact on developmental risks associated with dysfunctional parenting.
OBJECTIVE
This paper will explore how a new research tool, the MacArthur Story Stem Battery (MSSB), enables investigations into the interior life of children, its potential usefulness in evaluating effectiveness of interventions geared to prevent dysfunctional parenting, and how the method has been adapted for use with low income African American children in the Memphis New Mothers Study.


METHODS
A literature review provides justification for assessing children's representations of their parenting experience to evaluate the effectiveness of an early intervention program. Case examples are used to illustrate children's representations of themes in narrative responses that are indicative of behavioral regulation and dysregulation and specific adaptations for use with African American children.


RESULTS
Case examples support the method's application.


CONCLUSIONS
The story stem technique can play an important role in evaluating children's emotion regulation, social skills, and early experience in the family.
Robinson
J
J
Kempe Prevention Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Denver 80218, USA.
Hérot
C
C
Haynes
P
P
Mantz-Simmons
L
L
D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology*; D010553:Personality Development; D011203:Poverty / Q000523:psychology*; D015397:Program Evaluation; D011386:Projective Techniques / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012307:Risk Factors