Human Development and School Services Faculty Publications
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
3-2026
Abstract
The purpose of this mixed methods study is to explore the impact of a culturally adapted parent-directed training program in the United States on 90 Latine parents' perceptions of their child's strengths and social functioning. In addition, the study aimed to investigate the impact of the program on Latine parents' stress and their empowerment to advocate for their children. Participants were 90 Latine parents who participated in a 10-session culturally adapted training program. Quantitative analyses of pre-post data on the Family-Outcome Survey-Revised Scale, the stress subscale of the DASS-21, and Quality of Play Questionnaire indicated statistically significant improvements. Estimates of effect size and clinical significance were also measured. Analyses indicated clinically significant changes for some Latine parents. Approximately 1 out of 4 Latine parents reported clinically significant improvements (i.e., meaningful improvement) or improvements without clinical significance as related to advocacy for their child's rights, and 1 out of 3 Latine parents reported clinically significant improvements or slight improvements in understanding their child's strengths. Approximately 1 out of 3 Latine parents reported clinically significant improvements or slight improvements in reducing their stress symptoms, and approximately 1 out of 3 parents reported clinically significant improvements or slight improvements in their child's social functioning. Our qualitative findings also revealed that participants (a) appreciated the role of parent leaders, (b) applied evidence-based strategies to help their children, and (c) connected with other parents to create a community. An implication for this study is that graduate programs need to continue to teach future practitioners how to engage in interdisciplinary and interprofessional work to provide effective services to culturally diverse populations.
Recommended Citation
Ramos, N., Leija, V., Cavazos Vela, J., Maldonado, D. B., & Perez, S. (2026). Exploring the Impact of a Culturally Adapted Parent-Directed Training Program for Latine Parents of Children With Autism. Family Process, 65(1), e70128. https://doi.org/10.1111/famp.70128
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Publication Title
Family Process
DOI
10.1111/famp.70128
Comments
© 2026 The Author(s). Family Process published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Family Process Institute.
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.