Stepping Stones to Resiliency in Families: A Longitudinal, Mixed Methods Study Following a Two-Generation Preschool Program
Abstract
Complex inequities exist for Canadian families living with low income, affecting social relationships, well-being, and mental health. A two-generation preschool program at Calgary Urban Project Society (CUPS) Health Education Housing Child Development Centre (CUPS One World) has been ongoing since 2001. Program objectives include improving early childhood development and school readiness through strengthening children’s environmental influences. Program eligibility includes living with less than half the low-income cut-off (LICO), and mental illness, addiction, or social isolation within the family.
The aim of this explanatory sequential mixed methods study (quant-->QUAL) was to conduct a longitudinal follow-up of families after children reached age 10 years, to develop an understanding of the mechanism of change. In Phase I (quantitative), the top and bottom 25th percentile of children’s receptive language scores were identified, using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test 3rd Edition (PPVT-III), informing participant selection for Phase II (qualitative). In Phase II, constructivist grounded theory was used to explore experiences of 14 biological mothers as they moved through CUPS One World.
The core category, Stepping Stones to Resiliency, included four categories: Perceptions of Family; Moving Forward; Achieving Goals; and Completely Different. Perceptions of Family included the categories of CUPS Like Family (for recent immigrant families), and CUPS in Place of Family (for other Canadian-born and Aboriginal families). Recent immigrant mothers had experienced positive, trusting relationships with extended family, while other Canadian-born and Aboriginal mothers had experienced dysfunctional, chaotic relationships (due to abuse and neglect, addiction, and ongoing effects of colonization including residential schools).
Moving Forward was linked with Perceptions of Family: recent immigrant families could step lightly onto this stone, as it encompassed adjusting to life in Canada; other Canadian-born and Aboriginal families required extra struggle in order to move on to the next stone, following years of overwhelming life circumstances. Achieving Goals required self-worth to set and work toward them; Completely Different included leaving CUPS One World with newfound Strength, Independence, Freedom, Competency, and Connection. Stepping Stones to Resiliency was not a linear process, it involved occasionally stepping backwards, sometimes slipping and falling, and most importantly, continued resolve to get back on.
Description
Keywords
Education--Early Childhood, Education--Health, Education--Social Sciences, Individual and Family Studies, Social Structure and Development, Mental Health, Nursing, Public Health
Citation
Ginn, C. S. (2016). Stepping Stones to Resiliency in Families: A Longitudinal, Mixed Methods Study Following a Two-Generation Preschool Program (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/27880