Evidence-based Parent Training for Diverse Families (PTDF)

Abstract Historically, bias in the U.S. has made it difficult for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) people to marry and form families. The situation is changing, due to a recent dramatic shift in legal and societal acceptance of LGBTQ+ marriage and family building. People who identify as LGBTQ+ and whose relationships do not fit within heterosexual and/or cisgender norms—are increasingly having children or considering having them. LGBTQ+ parents generally experience similar parenting problems as heterosexual, cisgender parents, but they also face unique challenges related to their sexual orientation and/or gender identity. LGBTQ+ parents need effective, evidence-based training to address their unique needs and develop skills to mitigate external stressors and facilitate resilience and empowerment. The lack of targeted parenting resources is a serious problem for LGBTQ+ parents. Parenting education interventions can increase the use of effective strategies and improve long-term child behavioral and mental health outcomes. The most effective parenting interventions rely on and model evidence-based strategies for specific parent populations. However, despite the growing number of LGBTQ+ families with children, few services and interventions address their concerns. The proposed project, Evidence-based Parent Training for Diverse Families (PTDF), will address this gap in research and practice. We will use information gathered from preliminary research and in Phase I to inform the program content and produce numerous eLearning modules and user engagement tools. We will then conduct a randomized controlled trial with 240 LGBTQ+ parents from two-parent families. Over 17 weeks, we will test whether, compared to a wait-listed control condition, the full PTDF intervention improves self-reported parent outcomes of stress, self-efficacy, knowledge, and parenting skills, as well as parent-reported child behavior and stress variables. We also will examine the intervention's usability, content validity, educational utility, relevance, acceptability, and user satisfaction. By the end of this Fast Track project, we will have an appropriate, validated parent training product to improve parenting skills and child outcomes for LGBTQ+ families.