Preliminary Efficacy of an Intervention to Reduce Psychosocial Stress and Improve Coping in Low-Income Families

Datos Bibliográficos

ID11054259
AutoresMartha E Wadsworth (0000-0002-5319-2937, University of Denver; Denver CO USA, autor de correspondencia), Catherine Decarlo Santiago (0000-0001-9276-7871, University of California Los Angeles; Los Angeles CA USA), Lindsey Einhorn (University of Denver; Denver CO USA), Erica Moran Etter (University of Denver), Shauna Rienks (0000-0002-7973-1572, University of Denver; Denver CO USA), Howard J Markman (0000-0003-0050-6426, University of Denver), Howard Markman (University of Denver; Denver CO USA)
Año2011
Volumen48
Número3-4
Páginas257-271
Fecha de publicación2011-12-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaAmerican Journal of Community Psychology (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0091-0562 • E-ISSN: 1573-2770
EditorialWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1007/s10464-010-9384-z
PMID21104431
OpenAlexW2032054793
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas23
Referencias citadas34

This article reports pre-post intervention results from a randomized controlled trial evaluating the initial efficacy of a couples-based intervention aimed at teaching skills for coping with stress and improving relationship skills in a sample of 173 ethnically diverse low-income co-resident mothers and fathers who were raising at least one child together. Couples were randomly assigned to one of three interventions or to an assessment-only control condition. The Fatherhood, Relationship, and Marriage Education (FRAME) intervention is a 14-h psychoeducation intervention developed specifically to strengthen the ability of low-income mothers and fathers to reduce conflict, cope with stress, and co-parent effectively. Three versions of FRAME were assessed: a men-only group, a women-only group, and a couple's group. The pre-post intervention analyses revealed reductions in financial stress, disengagement coping, and involuntary disengagement responses, as well as improvements in problem solving. These pre-post changes on stress and coping variables were both statistically significant and reliable as assessed by the Reliable Change Index (Jacobson and Truax 1991). Results were particularly strong for the couples' and women's groups. In addition, positive pre-post changes on stress and coping variables were associated with pre-post reductions on symptoms of depression for participants assigned to an intervention. The results demonstrate that participants in FRAME acquire some of the key skills taught in the intervention, and skills acquisition appears to translate into symptom reduction. In addition, this study highlights the value of an intervention aiming to improve the capacity of parents with economic hardship to cope effectively with stress

Coping (psychology) · Disengagement theory · Health psychology · Psychiatry · Psychoeducation · Psychological intervention · Psychosocial · Public health · Randomized controlled trial · Attachment and Relationship Dynamics · Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development · Clinical Psychology · Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum · Medicine · Nursing · Psychology · Gerontology