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"HIPPY Parents are doing a better job of parenting than parents on the waiting list for the program."
THE IMPACT OF THE HOME INSTRUCTION FOR PARENTS OF PRESCHOOL YOUNGSTERS (HIPPY) PROGRAM ON ATTACHMENT AND MATERNAL SENSITIVITY
Angela Nievar, Ph.D., May 2008, University of North Texas research with a grant from the Timberlawn Foundation
Summary of the Research Study
This independent research investigation measured parenting and attachment through observation and surveys with the goal of evaluating effects of the HIPPY program. A treatment group and a control group consisted of Latino families eligible for the HIPPY program at Irving ISD. There were 48 children in each of the two groups: 3-4 year old HIPPY participants and 3-4 year old children on the waiting list for HIPPY. Trained graduate research assistants together with fluent Spanish translators visited homes of families to observe children with their mothers. The Timberlawn Foundation provided funds for this research conducted through the Department of Development and Family Studies at the University of North Texas.
Results
There was a positive significant difference between HIPPY parents and non-HIPPY parents in the HOME (Bradley & Caldwell, 2000) score, which includes observations of parenting and survey questions. The HOME measures actual parenting, including appropriate responsiveness of parents, responsibility parents take for their children, and the type of environment that parents provide for their children.
Parents who did not participate in the HIPPY program reported significantly more attachment-related stress on the Attachment subscale of the Parenting Stress Index (Abidin, 1994) than HIPPY parents.
Results of the parent interview are reported below by group. HIPPY parents were:
- More likely to think that parents should quickly develop close, warm feelings for their child.
- More likely to report having close, warm feelings for their child.
- Less likely to describe their child as “mean.”
- More comfortable holding and taking care of children.
- More likely to say that their child knows them and wants them.
