title: Attendance Trajectory Classes Among Divorced and Separated Mothers and Fathers in the New Beginnings Program.
abstract: We examined attendance trajectories among mothers and fathers in the effectiveness trial of the New Beginnings Program, a parenting-focused prevention program for divorced and separated parents. We also investigated attendance trajectory class differences on two sets of pretest covariates: one set previously linked to participation in programs not specifically targeting divorced parents (i.e., sociodemographics, perceived parenting skills, child problem behaviors, parent psychological distress) and another that might be particularly salient to participation in the context of divorce (i.e., interparental conflict, level of parent-child contact, previous marital status to the ex-spouse). For mothers and fathers, results supported four attendance trajectory classes: (1) non-attenders (NA), (2) early dropouts (ED), (3) declining attenders (DA), and (4) sustained attenders (SA). In the final model testing multiple covariates simultaneously, mothers who were EDs and DAs were more likely to be Latina than SAs, and EDs reported more interparental conflict than SAs. Mother trajectory groups did not differ on parenting skills, child problem behavior, or mother-child contact in the final or preliminary models. In the final model for fathers, EDs rated their children higher on externalizing than DAs, had less contact with their children than DAs and NAs, and reported less distress than SAs. Father trajectory groups did not differ on fathers' age, ethnicity, income, perceived parenting skills, or interparental conflict in the final or preliminary models. Results highlight qualitatively distinct latent classes of mothers and fathers who disengage from a parenting intervention at various points. We discuss implications for intervention engagement strategies and translational science.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, REACH Institute, Arizona State University, P.O. Box 871104, Tempe, AZ, 85287-1104, USA. anne.mauricio@asu.edu.
authors.forename: Anne M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Mauricio
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, REACH Institute, Arizona State University, P.O. Box 871104, Tempe, AZ, 85287-1104, USA.
authors.forename: Gina L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Mazza
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, REACH Institute, Arizona State University, P.O. Box 871104, Tempe, AZ, 85287-1104, USA.
authors.forename: Cady
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Berkel
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, REACH Institute, Arizona State University, P.O. Box 871104, Tempe, AZ, 85287-1104, USA.
authors.forename: Jenn-Yun
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Tein
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, REACH Institute, Arizona State University, P.O. Box 871104, Tempe, AZ, 85287-1104, USA.
authors.forename: Irwin N
authors.initials: IN
authors.lastname: Sandler
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, REACH Institute, Arizona State University, P.O. Box 871104, Tempe, AZ, 85287-1104, USA.
authors.forename: Sharlene A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Wolchik
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, REACH Institute, Arizona State University, P.O. Box 871104, Tempe, AZ, 85287-1104, USA.
authors.forename: Emily
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Winslow
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior; D002657:Child Development; D003256:Community Participation; D004243:Divorce; D006801:Humans; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D016487:Parenting; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology; D011315:Preventive Medicine
keywords: Attendance trajectories; Divorce; Latent classes; Parenting intervention