Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-dfsvx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-27T18:57:36.772Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Assessing the Strengths and Needs of Minority Parents

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 February 2016

Robert Strom ,
Dianne Griswold ,
Pat Collinsworth  and
Shirley Strom
Robert Strom*
Affiliation:
Arizona State University
Dianne Griswold
Affiliation:
Auburn University at Montgomery, Alabama
Pat Collinsworth
Affiliation:
Office of Parent Development International
Shirley Strom
Affiliation:
Office of Parent Development International
*
Correspondence regarding this article should be addressed to Professor Robert Strom, Division of Psychology in Education, College of Education, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287-0611.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The Parental Strengths and Needs Inventory was administered to 60 Black mothers and their preadolescent children. Most of the mothers, despite a lower than average income, formal schooling and family stability enjoyed being parents, successfully performed the tasks expected of them, and effectively taught essential lessons about life. In the estimate of themselves and their children, these mothers qualify as good parents. Both generations identified similar and differing aspects of maternal behaviour that should be improved. Youngsters contradicted their mothers regarding how well the adults handled certain problems associated with childrearing. Significant differences between the groups were obtained for some of the inventory items, with children commonly assigning lower ratings to the mothers than mothers assigned to themselves. Becoming adequately informed about the growing up experience of individual sons and daughters was identified by both generations as the mothers’ most prominent weakness. The findings offer a generally favourable view of maternal competence in Black families and is being used to develop a suitable curriculum for mothers.

Type
Research Article
Information
Australasian Journal of Special Education , Volume 14 , Issue 1 , 1990 , pp. 10 - 18
Copyright
Copyright © The Australian Association of Special Education 1990

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abbott, D., & Meredith, C. (1986). Strengths of parents with retarded children. Family Relations, 35, 371–375.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Alvy., K. (1984). Standard parent-training programs modified to make them relevant to black families. Behaviour Today, 15(9), 1–8.Google Scholar
Alwinn, D. (1988). From obedience to autonomy: Changes in traits desired in children. Public Opinion Quarterly, 52(1), 33–52.Google Scholar
Curran, D. (1989). Traits of a healthy family, San Francisco: Harper & Row.Google Scholar
Dunn, W. (1989). Picture for blacks: ‘Still bleak.’ USA Today, July 28–30. A-1.Google Scholar
Hale-Benson, J. (1986). Black children: Their roots, culture, and learning style, Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar
Havighurst, R. (1966). Overcoming value differences. In Strom, R. (Ed.) The Inner-City Classroom: Teacher Behaviors (pp. 41–56). Columbus: Charles E. Merrill.Google Scholar
Hess, R. (1965). Maternal teaching styles and educational retardation. In Strom, R. & Torrance, P. (Eds). Mental Health and Achievement (pp. 15–23). New York: John Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
McAdoo, H. Black families.. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morgan, E. (1987). Pioneer research on strong healthy families. Washington, DC: Family Research Council of America.Google Scholar
Sowell, T. (1984). Ethnic America: A history. New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar
Stinnett, N.. & DeFrain, J. (1985). Secrets of strong families. Boston: Little Brown.Google Scholar
Strom, R., & Johnson, A. (1978). Assessment for parent education. Journal of Experimental Research in Education, 47(1), 9–16.Google Scholar
Strom, R., & Cooledge, N. (1985). Parental success as perceived by parents, teachers and children. Child Study Journal, 14, 339–347.Google Scholar
Strom, R., Daniels, S., & Park, S. (1986). The adjustment of Korean immigrant families. Educational and Psychological Research, 6(3), 213–227.Google Scholar
Strom, R., Escobar, I., & Daniels, S. (1986). Supporting Venezuelan families through parent attitude assessment. Journal of Instructional Psychology, 75(3), 147–152.Google Scholar
Strom, R. (1965). Teaching in the Slum School. Columbus, OH: Charles E. Merrill.Google Scholar
Strom, R., Jones, E., & Daniels, S. (1988). Child and parent development in deaf families. The Australasian Journal of Special Education, 12(1), 34–39.Google Scholar
Strom, R., & McCalla, K. (1988). Perspectives on childrearing competence. The Exceptional Child, 35(3), 155–164.Google Scholar
Williams, D. (1989). Two stories about black adolescents. Search Institute Source, 4(2), 1–3.Google Scholar