ABSTRACT

This chapter is a case presentation of how one research project approached the conceptual and methodological problems of measuring the nature and predictors of participation in a long-term program for parents. It begins with a discussion of program process and the treatment variable. The chapter provides a brief description of the program and discusses selected major findings which have the direct implications for the design of evaluations of comprehensive parent programs. Conventional comparisons of treatment groups with control groups generally ignore differences in the quantity or quality of participation. The intervention program—the Child and Family Neighborhood Program—was established in 1978 in a white, suburban Detroit neighborhood identified by local school officials as having a large number of children with low academic achievement and socially isolated low-income families. Data were collected in four areas: attendance, verbal behavior in group meetings, use of staff services, and interpersonal ties with program peers. The data collection schedule was demanding of participants.