Community-Based Randomized Controlled Trial of Mom Power Parenting Intervention for Mothers with Interpersonal Trauma Histories and their Young Children

Creator(s)

Katherine L. Rosenblum, University of Michigan
Maria Musik, University of Michigan
Diana M. Morelen, East Tennessee State UniversityFollow
Emily A. Alfalfa, University of Michigan
Nicole Miller, University of Michigan
Rachel Waddell, University of Michigan
Melisa M. Schuster, University of Michigan
Julie Ribaudo, University of Michigan

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

6-25-2017

Description

We conducted a study to evaluate the effectiveness of Mom Power, a multifamily parenting intervention to improve mental health and parenting among high-risk mothers with young children in a community-based randomized controlled trial (CB-RCT) design. Participants (N = 122) were high-risk mothers (e.g., interpersonal trauma histories, mental health problems, poverty) and their young children (age <6 years), randomized either to Mom Power, a parenting intervention (treatment condition), or weekly mailings of parenting information (control condition). In this study, the 13-session intervention was delivered by community clinicians trained to fidelity. Pre- and post-trial assessments included mothers’ mental health symptoms, parenting stress and helplessness, and connection to care. Mom Power was delivered in the community with fidelity and had good uptake (>65%) despite the risk nature of the sample. Overall, we found improvements in mental health and parenting stress for Mom Power participants but not for controls; in contrast, control mothers increased in parent-child role reversal across the trial period. The benefits of Mom Power treatment (vs. control) were accentuated for mothers with interpersonal trauma histories. Results of this CB-RCT confirm the effectiveness of Mom Power for improving mental health and parenting outcomes for high-risk, trauma-exposed women with young children.

Citation Information

Rosenblum, Katherine L.; Musik, Maria; Morelen, Diana M.; Alfalfa, Emily A.; Miller, Nicole; Waddell, Rachel; Schuster, Melisa M.; and Ribaudo, Julie. 2017. Community-Based Randomized Controlled Trial of Mom Power Parenting Intervention for Mothers with Interpersonal Trauma Histories and their Young Children. Archives of Women's Mental Health. Vol.20(5). 673-686. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-017-0734-9