Cultural Pride Reinforcement for Early School Readiness

Minority children disproportionately experience racial bias, which is linked to school failure, toxic stress, and health disparities. In contrast, a type of racial socialization called cultural pride reinforcement has been associated with positive academic, behavioral, and mental health outcomes. A clinic-based intervention to boost cultural pride may help parents foster resilience in their young children against the negative effects of racial bias. The investigators evaluated the extent to which a standard clinic-based early literacy program (Reach Out and Read (ROR)) and a similar program enhanced with cultural pride content (Cultural Pride Reinforcement for Early School Readiness (CPR4ESR)) are associated with improved cultural pride reinforcement practices, child development, family-provider communication, and health care utilization. Given the high representation of young children of color in the sample, the investigators hypothesized better outcomes among those who received the culturally tailored CPR4ESR program compared to those who received the standard ROR program.