Esther J Calzada, Ph.D.

Physical and Mental Health Disparities among Young Children of Asian Immigrants
Huang, Keng-Yen; Calzada, Esther; Cheng, Sabrina; Brotman, Laurie Miller
2012 Feb;160(2):331-336.e1, Journal of pediatrics
OBJECTIVE: To examine physical and mental health functioning among Asian-American children of US-born and immigrant parents. STUDY DESIGN: We used data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Class of 1998-1999 base-year public data file. The sample was restricted to 7726 Asian and US-born white children. Asian subgroups were created based on parents' country of birth. Child physical and mental health was assessed based on multiple sources of data and measures. Analyses included multivariate linear and logistic regression. RESULTS: After adjusting for demographic and contextual differences, disparities were found for physical and mental health indicators. Children of foreign-born Asian families (from east, southeast, and south Asia) were at greater risk for poor physical health, internalizing problems, and inadequate interpersonal relationships compared with children of US-born white families. CONCLUSION: There is little support for the 'model minority' myth with regard to physical and mental health. Evidence of physical and mental health disparities among young Asian-American children and differing risk based on region of origin of immigrant parents suggests the need for culturally informed prevention efforts during early childhood
— id: 149945, year: 2012, vol: 160, page: 331, stat: Journal Article,

Promoting effective parenting practices and preventing child behavior problems in school among ethnically diverse families from underserved, urban communities
Brotman, Laurie Miller; Calzada, Esther; Huang, Keng-Yen; Kingston, Sharon; Dawson-McClure, Spring; Kamboukos, Dimitra; Rosenfelt, Amanda; Schwab, Amihai; Petkova, Eva
2011 Jan;82(1):258-276, Child development
This study examines the efficacy of ParentCorps among 4-year-old children (N = 171) enrolled in prekindergarten in schools in a large urban school district. ParentCorps includes a series of 13 group sessions for parents and children held at the school during early evening hours and facilitated by teachers and mental health professionals. ParentCorps resulted in significant benefits on effective parenting practices and teacher ratings of child behavior problems in school. Intervention effects were of similar magnitude for families at different levels of risk and for Black and Latino families. The number of sessions attended was related to improvements in parenting. Study findings support investment in and further study of school-based family interventions for children from underserved, urban communities
— id: 122693, year: 2011, vol: 82, page: 258, stat: Journal Article,

Bringing culture into parent training with Latinos
Calzada, Esther J
2010 ;17(2):167-175, Cognitive & behavioral practice
Traditional frameworks of parenting have failed to capture the distinctive nature of parenting in Latino families. Cultural values likely influence parenting practices. The study of cultural values may allow us to identify aspects of parenting that are unique to Latinos and which complement traditional frameworks of parenting. This paper presents qualitative work on two Latino cultural values, familismo and respeto, and examines ways in which these values may inform the provision of standard parent training programs with Latinos. The first study is an ethnography that explored the value of familismo. The second study consisted of focus groups in which Latina mothers discussed the value of respeto. Findings from these two studies are used to examine the cultural congruence of the characteristics of parent training programs and the Latino values of familismo and respeto. In light of the issues identified, clinical guidelines for working with Latino parents in parent training programs are offered.
— id: 112179, year: 2010, vol: 17, page: 167, stat: Journal Article,

Incorporating the cultural value of respeto into a framework of Latino parenting
Calzada, Esther J; Fernandez, Yenny; Cortes, Dharma E
2010 Jan;16(1):77-86, Cultural diversity & ethnic minority psychology
Latino families face multiple stressors associated with adjusting to United States mainstream culture that, along with poverty and residence in inner-city communities, may further predispose their children to risk for negative developmental outcomes. Evidence-based mental health treatments may require culturally informed modifications to best address the unique needs of the Latino population, yet few empirical studies have assessed these cultural elements. The current study examined cultural values of 48 Dominican and Mexican mothers of preschoolers through focus groups in which they described their core values as related to their parenting role. Results showed that respeto, family and religion were the most important values that mothers sought to transmit to their children. Respeto is manifested in several domains, including obedience to authority, deference, decorum, and public behavior. The authors describe the socialization messages that Latina mothers use to teach their children respeto and present a culturally derived framework of how these messages may relate to child development. The authors discuss how findings may inform the cultural adaptation of evidence-based mental health treatments such as parent training programs
— id: 106373, year: 2010, vol: 16, page: 77, stat: Journal Article,

Understanding Relations Among Early Family Environment, Cortisol Response, and Child Aggression via a Prevention Experiment
O'Neal, Colleen R; Brotman, Laurie Miller; Huang, Keng-Yen; Gouley, Kathleen Kiely; Kamboukos, Dimitra; Calzada, Esther J; Pine, Daniel S
2010 Jan;81(1):290-305, Child development
This study examined relations among family environment, cortisol response, and behavior in the context of a randomized controlled trial with 92 children (M = 48 months) at risk for antisocial behavior. Previously, researchers reported an intervention effect on cortisol response in anticipation of a social challenge. The current study examined whether changes in cortisol response were related to later child aggression. Among lower warmth families, the intervention effect on aggression was largely mediated by the intervention effect on cortisol response. Although the intervention also resulted in significant benefits on child engaging behavior, cortisol response did not mediate this effect. These findings demonstrate meaningful associations between cortisol response and aggression among children at familial risk for antisocial behavior
— id: 108803, year: 2010, vol: 81, page: 290, stat: Journal Article,

Parent Cultural Adaptation and Child Functioning in Culturally Diverse, Urban Families of Preschoolers
Calzada EJ; Brotman LM; Huang KY; Bat-Chava Y; Kingston S
2009 Jul;30(4):515-524, Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology
Parent cultural adaptation and preschool behavioral and socioemotional functioning were examined in a community sample of urban families from diverse cultural backgrounds. Participants were 130 families of children (mean age = 4.1 years) attending eight public Pre-Kindergarten programs in urban communities. Parents completed a measure of cultural adaptation that taps into acculturation and enculturation, and teachers reported on children's externalizing problems, internalizing problems and adaptive behavior in the classroom. Parents' ethnic identity was a significant predictor of children's functioning. The retention of parents' culture of origin and specific aspects of acculturation are related to positive outcomes in a sample of culturally diverse families of preschoolers living in urban communities. Bicultural parents (those with high ethnic and US American identity) had children with lower levels of internalizing problems and higher levels of adaptive behavior relative to parents who were not bicultural. Implications for enhancing positive child outcomes through the promotion of parental ethnic identity are discussed
— id: 138395, year: 2009, vol: 30, page: 515, stat: Journal Article,

Training school personnel to facilitate a family intervention to prevent conduct problems
Brotman, LM; Kingston, S; Bat-Chava, Y; Caldwell, MB; Calzada, EJ
2008 JUL-AUG ;19(4):622-642, Early Education & Development
This study evaluates school personnel perceptions, knowledge, and behaviors before and after a 36-hr training program designed to prepare early childhood school personnel for implementation of an after-school family preventive intervention for conduct problems. Participants were 40 female school personnel (22 professionals and 18 paraprofessionals). Research Findings: Participation and satisfaction with the training program were high. Before training, school personnel responded correctly to 53% to 66% of knowledge questions and indicated that they would be 'somewhat comfortable to comfortable' in facilitating the after-school groups with families. Before training, professionals had greater knowledge than paraprofessionals; there was no difference in initial comfort level by professional status. Trainees made substantial gains in knowledge related to cognitive-behavioral strategies for preschoolers, program philosophy, and group facilitation skills, responding correctly to 69% to 77% of questions. These large effects on knowledge were not moderated by professional status. There were no significant changes in comfort level. Gains in knowledge in cognitive-behavioral strategies generalized over time (5 months) but not across contexts (into the classroom). Practice or Policy: This study provides preliminary evidence for the feasibility and potential efficacy of a training program to prepare early childhood school personnel to implement an after-school family preventive intervention for conduct problems
— id: 86666, year: 2008, vol: 19, page: 622, stat: Journal Article,

Community Involvement in Adapting and Testing a Prevention Program for Preschoolers Living in Urban Communities: ParentCorps
Caldwell, Melissa B; Brotman, Laurie M; Coard, Stephanie I; Wallace, Scyatta A; Stellabotte, Debra J; Calzada, Esther J
2005 ;14(3):373-386 Sep, Journal of child & family studies
We describe a university-community collaborative effort to tailor and deliver a prevention program for families of preschoolers living in low-income, urban communities. ParentCorps, which builds on efficacious interventions with parents and young children, aims to promote child social competence and prevent conduct problems by strengthening parenting skills, enhancing support for parents, and empowering parents to access resources in their communities. Active community engagement and collaboration were viewed as critical to the development of the program and its feasibility testing. We present an overview of community involvement in the development of ParentCorps and approaches taken to involve community members during a feasibility study. Areas of success and lessons learned are discussed. (journal abstract)
— id: 58705, year: 2005, vol: 14, page: 373, stat: Journal Article,

Training Community Members to Serve as Paraprofessionals in an Evidence-Based, Prevention Program for Parents of Preschoolers
Calzada, Esther J; Caldwell, Melissa B; Brotman, Laurie Miller; Brown, Elissa J; Wallace, Scyatta A; McQuaid, Jennifer H; Rojas-Flores, Lisseth; O'Neal, Colleen R
2005 ;14(3):387-402 Sep, Journal of child & family studies
Widespread dissemination of evidence-based programs for underserved populations may require non-traditional means of service provision. Collaboration with paraprofessionals from communities that are targeted for intervention holds promise as a delivery strategy that may make programs more accessible and acceptable, especially to parents living in low-income, urban neighborhoods. We describe a paraprofessional training program for individuals living in a community targeted for preventive intervention based on high levels of poverty and community violence. The design and implementation of the training program are described in the context of issues related to the use of paraprofessionals in community-based, preventive interventions with parents of young children. We also provide insight into lessons learned from a feasibility study as well as general guidelines for the development of paraprofessional training programs for delivery of evidence-based programs. (journal abstract)
— id: 58704, year: 2005, vol: 14, page: 387, stat: Journal Article,

Parenting disruptive preschoolers: experiences of mothers and fathers
Calzada, Esther J; Eyberg, Sheila M; Rich, Brendan; Querido, Jane G
2004 Apr;32(2):203-213, Journal of abnormal child psychiatry
This study examined parental functioning and interactions with young children with Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD), with emphasis on differences between mothers and fathers in their responses to their child and in their unique contributions to the prediction of child disruptive behavior. Participants were 53 3- to 6-year olds with ODD who presented for treatment with two parents. Mothers reported more severe disruptive behavior and higher parenting stress than fathers. During parent-child interactions, mothers showed more responsiveness than fathers, even though children were more compliant during interactions with fathers. Regression analyses showed that fathers' parent-related stress was predictive of both mothers' and father's reports of disruptive child behavior; mothers' marital satisfaction was predictive of behavioral observations of child compliance with both mothers and fathers. This study revealed several important differences in the experiences of mothers versus fathers of disruptive children and indicates the importance of including the father in the child's assessment and treatment
— id: 42769, year: 2004, vol: 32, page: 203, stat: Journal Article,

Self-reported parenting practices in Dominican and Puerto Rican mothers of young children
Calzada, Esther J; Eyberg, Sheila M
2002 Sep;31(3):354-363, Journal of clinical child & adolescent psychology
Explored self-reported parenting in a Hispanic sample of mothers living in the mainland United States using a cultural framework. Participants were 130 immigrant or first-generation Dominican and Puerto Rican mothers with a child between the ages of 2 and 6 years. Mothers completed questionnaires related to their parenting behavior and also filled out a detailed demographic form and a measure of acculturation. Results suggested that both Dominican and Puerto Rican mothers engage in high levels of praise and physical affection and low levels of harsh, inconsistent, and punitive parenting behaviors. Dominican and Puerto Rican parenting was similar on measures of authoritarian and permissive parenting, but differences emerged on a measure of authoritative parenting and when parenting was considered at the more detailed level of individual behaviors. Parenting was related to several demographic characteristics, including father's education level and child age; more specifically, higher paternal education and younger age of the child were related to higher levels of authoritative parenting by mothers. Parenting and acculturation were generally not related. Discussion focused on a culturally sensitive interpretation of normative parenting among Dominican and Puerto Rican mothers
— id: 42770, year: 2002, vol: 31, page: 354, stat: Journal Article,

[Eyberg inventory of child behavior. Standardization of the Spanish version and its usefulness in ambulatory pediatrics]
Garcia-Tornel Florensa S; Calzada EJ; Eyberg SM; Mas Alguacil JC; Vilamala Serra C; Baraza Mendoza C; Villena Collado H; Gonzalez Garcia M; Calvo Hernandez M; Trinxant Domenech A
1998 May;48(5):475-482, Anales espanoles de pediatria
OBJECTIVE: Taking into account the high prevalence of behavioral problems in the pediatric outpatient clinic, a need for a useful and easy to administer tool for the evaluation of this problem arises. The psychometric characteristics of the Spanish version of the Eyberg Behavioral Child Inventory (EBCI), [in Spanish Inventario de Eyberg para el Comportamiento de Nino (IECN)], a 36-item questionnaire were established. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The ECBI inventory/questionnaire was translated into Spanish. The basis of the ECBI is the evaluation of the child's behavior through the parents' answers to the questionnaire. Healthy children between 2 and 12 years of age were included and were taken from pediatric outpatient clinics from urban and suburban areas of Barcelona and from our hospital's own ambulatory clinic. RESULTS: The final sample included 518 subjects. The mean score on the intensity scale was 96.8 and on the problem scale 3.9. Internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) was 0.73 and the test-retest had an r of 0.89 (p < 0.001) for the intensity scale and r = 0.93 (p < 0.001) for the problem scale. Interrater reliability for the intensity scale was r = 0.58 (p < 0.001) and r = 0.32 (p < 0.001) for the problem scale. Concurrent validity between both scales was r = 0.343 (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The IECN is a useful and easy tool to apply in the pediatrician's office as a method for early detection of behavior problems
— id: 42771, year: 1998, vol: 48, page: 475, stat: Journal Article,