Parent-Worker Relationships in Home Visiting: Intersections of Parental Gender, Ethnicity, and Immigrant Status

Despite home visiting's established legacy, the potential influence of intersecting parental characteristics on parent-worker relationships is less understood. This study examines the main and interaction effects of parents' demographic characteristics on positive relationships with workers in home visiting and compares whether and how these effects differ between fathers and mothers. This study analyzed 130 mothers and 180 fathers who participated in home visiting services. Immigrant status was a significant predictor of positive worker relationships for mothers and fathers, whereas ethnicity was only significant for fathers. Interaction analyses indicated that U.S.-born Hispanic/Latinx fathers faced greater challenges in building positive worker relationships than their foreign-born counterparts. These findings highlight the importance of developing gender-specific and culturally responsive strategies to enhance parent-worker relationships.

Automated summary

This study examines the influence of parental characteristics on parent-worker relationships in home visiting, finding that immigrant status is an important predictor for both mothers and fathers, while ethnicity is only significant for fathers. Additionally, the study reveals that U.S.-born Hispanic/Latinx fathers face greater challenges in building positive worker relationships. These findings underscore the importance of developing gender-specific and culturally responsive strategies to enhance parent-worker relationships.