Deterrents to Participation in Parenting Education

The purpose of this study was to determine the deterrents to participation by adults in parenting education programs. The objectives were (a) to describe parents with children in selected day care facilities on selected sociodemographic characteristics, (b) to determine factors that deterred those parents from participating in parenting education, and (c) to determine if there was a relationship between selected sociodemographic characteristics and the parents' participation in parenting education programs. A simple random sample of parents was drawn from the accessible population. Factor analysis revealed five factors that deterred this population from participating in parenting education: Lack of Confidence, Lack of Course Relevance, Personal Problems, Situational Barriers, and Time. Correlation coefficients and mean differences revealed a significant relationship between factors and specific sociodemographic variables.