MIXED‐METHODS EVALUATION OF PARTICIPANT RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION IN THE MOM POWER PARENTING INTERVENTION PROGRAM

ABSTRACT Parenting group success begins with attendance. Using archival pilot data from 99 mothers who enrolled in the Mom Power (MP) parenting intervention, this study sought to understand the factors that influenced participant engagement and retention. MP is a group‐based, early intervention program grounded in attachment theory that utilizes motivational interviewing as a core component to enhance program engagement. Study aims were to qualitatively describe the reasons why mothers were interested in participating in the program, including what they hoped to gain from the experience, and to quantitatively examine the extent to which attendance was associated with demographic, experiential, and psychosocial factors. The qualitative analysis of intake interviews revealed that mothers expected the MP intervention to provide a warm environment for themselves and their children as well as to support and enhance their parenting, and 95% revealed their hopes that the intervention would help them grow and develop as women. Attendance rates were relatively high, with 62% of mothers missing less than one group session. Quantitative analyses using multiple regression to test associations of demographic, experiential, and psychosocial factors with attendance rates were not significant. Results suggest that motivational interviewing may be an important component in promoting participant engagement efforts in parenting interventions. RESUMEN El éxito del grupo de enfoque en la crianza comienza con la asistencia. Este estudio se propuso comprender los factores que influyen la participación y retención de participantes usando datos de estudios piloto de los archivos provenientes de 99 madres que se matricularon en la intervención de crianza Mom Power (MP). MP es un programa de intervención temprana con base en grupos fundamentado en la teoría de afectividad y que utiliza la entrevista motivacional como un componente clave para aumentar la participación en el programa. Las metas del estudio fueron describir cualitativamente las razones por las cuales las madres estaban interesadas en participar en el programa, incluyendo lo que ellas esperaban sacar de la experiencia, y examinar cuantitativamente hasta dónde la asistencia se asociaba con factores demográficos, de experiencia y sicosociales. Los análisis cualitativos de entrevistas de entrada reveló que las madres esperaban que la intervención MP les ofreciera un ambiente acogedor para ellas mismas y sus niños, les apoy