Description

AA parents face unique racialized stressors which negatively impact their health and the health of their children. This heavy burden of chronic stress contributes to a high prevalence of anxiety and depression in AA parents. Parent stress negatively impacts child development and family health behaviors including diet and physical activity. A culturally-tailored intervention that addresses both AA parent stress and early childhood health and development has the potential to be more effective in promoting healthy family behaviors and AA parent mental health than traditional early childhood preventive care. Guided by AA parents and community members, the investigators propose to systematically co-develop a novel intervention using two frameworks: Centering and Superwoman Schema. The novel intervention will include group parent support, training in stress management and links to relevant community resources. The investigators will then determine the feasibility, acceptability, and limited efficacy of the adapted intervention in a pilot study.