Culturally Sensitive Parent Education: A Critical Review of Quantitative Research

The recent growth of culturally sensitive parent education programs necessitates an evaluative look at their effectiveness. This article critically reviews the quantitative literature on culturally sensitive parent education programs, discussing issues of research methodology and program efficacy in producing change among ethnic-minority parents and their children. Culturally sensitive programs for African American and Hispanic families are described in detail Quantitative studies of culturally sensitive programs are critiqued against existing literature on the effectiveness of traditional parent education programs. Main conclusions include the prevalence of flaws in research methodology, which may contribute to the finding of somewhat lower efficacy of these programs in comparison to standard programs. Although efficacy studies of programs for Native American and Asian American parents could not be found, efforts to serve these populations are also described. Recommendations for future research are proposed.