Maternal Involvement in Day Care: A Comparison of Incentives. Final Report.

This study investigated: (1) the use of financial incentives as a method of initiating and maintaining the day care mother's involvement in a parent education program; and (2) the influence of financial incentives on the quality of mother-child interaction and the child's self concept. The Parents Are Teachers Too Program (PTT) was offered for 12 weekly sessions at six day care centers in different Michigan cities. Three incentive conditions were operating: Incentive 1 paid a $5 stipend to each mother for each meeting attended; Incentive 2 provided babysitting and transportation for each meeting attended; and Incentive 3 provided no incentive other than the program itself. The principal dependent measure was maternal attendance at PTT sessions. Child self-esteem and the quality of mother-child interaction were also measured. Results indicated that (1) There was significantly more attendance in incentive conditions 1 and 2; (2) incentive 1 initiated and maintained more attendance than Incentive 2; (3) there was significant positive change in child self concept in all conditions; (4) Children evidenced greater positive change in self concept in Incentive 3; and (5) No significant changes on mother-child interaction measures were evidenced based on incentives or attendance. (Author/SDH)