Parent motivation to enroll in parenting skills programs: A model of family context and health belief predictors.

In this study, the authors tested a heuristic model of health belief and family context factors associated with parent inclination to enroll in parenting skills programs. They collected data from 1,192 rural midwestern parents of 5th graders. Results support a basic model including health belief constructs derived from the health belief model (I. M. Rosenstock, 1966)-perceived teen problem susceptibility, problem severity, program benefits, and program barriers-and an expanded model incorporating the indirect effects of several family context variables-household income, parent education, number of children, child problem behaviors, and past parenting resource use. Perceived program benefits, program barriers, and past parenting resource use showed the strongest influence on the parents' inclination to enroll. Implications for practitioners are discussed.