A person-oriented approach to understanding dimensions of parenting in low-income mothers

Parenting is a frequent target of early intervention efforts • Parenting affects children’s early development (Brooks-Gunn & Markman, 2005). • Many early intervention programs, such as Early Head Start, work directly and intensively with parents to improve parenting behaviors, attitudes, and knowledge. • Improved parenting is related to children’s developmental outcomes (Bradley et al., 1994; Love et al., 2005; Sweet & Appelbaum, 2004). Person-oriented approach Latent Class Analysis (LCA): A holistic and dynamic view of individuals, viewing individual functioning and development as an organized whole (Bergman & Trost, 2006; Bergman & Magnusson, 1997; Magnusson & Allen, 1983) A study of low-income African-American parents showed classes of parenting patterns described as “Aggravated but Nurturant; Cognitively Stimulating; Patient and Nurturant; and Low Nurturance ” (McGroder, 2000