A R T I C L E MIXED-METHODS EVALUATION OF PARTICIPANT RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION IN THE MOM POWER PARENTING INTERVENTION PROGRAM LILIA E. MUCKA AND CAROLYN J. DAYTON Wayne State University JAMIE LAWLER, ROSALIND KIRK, EMILY ALFAFARA, MELISA M. SCHUSTER, NICOLE MILLER, JULIE RIBAUDO, KATHERINE LISA ROSENBLUM, AND MARIA MUZIK University of Michigan ABSTRACT: Parenting group success begins with attendance. Using archival pilot data from 99 mothers who enrolled in the Mom Power (MP) parenting intervention, this study sought to understand the factors that influenced participant engagement and retention. MP is a group-based, early intervention program grounded in attachment theory that utilizes motivational interviewing as a core component to enhance program engagement. Study aims were to qualitatively describe the reasons why mothers were interested in participating in the program, including what they hoped to gain from the experience, and to quantitatively examine the extent to which attendance was associated with demographic, experiential, and psychosocial factors. The qualitative analysis of intake interviews revealed that mothers expected the MP intervention to provide a warm environment for themselves and their children as well as to support and enhance their parenting, and 95% revealed their hopes that the intervention would help them grow and develop as women. Attendance rates were relatively high, with 62% of mothers missing less than one group session. Quantitative analyses using multiple regression to test associations of demographic, experiential, and psychosocial factors with attendance rates were not significant. Results suggest that motivational interviewing may be an important component in promoting participant engagement efforts in parenting interventions. Keywords: motivation, parenting, interventions RESUMEN: El ´ exito del grupo de enfoque en la crianza comienza con la asistencia. Este estudio se propuso comprender los factores que influyen la participaci´ on y retenci´ on de participantes usando datos de estudios piloto de los archivos provenientes de 99 madres que se matricularon en la intervenci´ on de crianza Mom Power (MP). MP es un programa de intervenci´ on temprana con base en grupos fundamentado en la teor´ ıa de afectividad y que utiliza la entrevista motivacional como un componente clave para aumentar la participaci´ on en el programa. Las metas del estudio fueron describir cualitativamente las razones por las cuales las madres estaban interesadas en participar en el programa, incluyendo lo que ellas esperaban sacar de la experiencia, y examinar cuantitativamente hasta d´ onde la asistencia se asociaba con factores demogr´ aficos, de experiencia y sicosociales. Los an´ alisis cualitativos de entrevistas de entrada revel´ o que las madres esperaban que la intervenci ´ on MP les ofreciera un ambiente acogedor para ellas mismas y sus ni ˜ nos, les apoyara y mejorara su forma de criar, y 95% revel´ o sus esperanzas de que la intervenci´ on les ayudar´ ıa a crecer y desarrollarse como mujeres. Los puntajes de asistencia fueron relativamente altos con un 62% de madres que faltaron a menos de 1 sesi´ on de grupo. Los an´ alisis cuantitativos usando la regresi´ on m ´ ultiple para probar asociaciones de factores demogr´ aficos, de experiencia y sicosociales con respecto a la asistencia, The research presented was supported through funds from the State of Michigan, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (PI: Muzik, Grants F023865-2009 and F029321-2010); Michigan Institute for Clinical & Health Research (PI: Rosenblum, Grant UL1RR024986-2010), and the Robert Wood Johnson Health & Society Scholars Program (PI: Muzik, Grant N012918-2010). We declare no conflicts of interest. This project was approved by the University of Michigan Institutional Review Board Ethics Committee, Study ID: HUM00018944. We thank the community agencies (Starfish Family Services, Inkster, MI; The Guidance Center, Southgate, MI; The Corner Health Center, Ypsilanti, MI; Washtenaw County Community Mental Health, Ypsilanti, MI, and Family Medicine at Ypsilanti Health Center, Ypsilanti, MI) and their clinicians serving the families for participating in this study. We also thank the families who participated in this project. In addition, we acknowledge the valuable efforts of the Mom Power project staff in program development, implementation, and data collection. Special appreciation to Mary A Ludtke and Sheri Falvay from MDHHS for their support of this work. Finally, we thank Drs. Douglas Barnett, Marjorie Beeghly, and Christopher Trentacosta, who had chaired the first author’s Master’s thesis, which served as the basis for qualitative and quantitative data analyses in this article. Direct correspondence to: Maria Muzik, Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Rachel Upjohn Building, 4250 Plymouth Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48109; e-mail: muzik@med.umich.edu. INFANT MENTAL HEALTH JOURNAL, Vol. 38(4), 536–550 (2017) C  2017 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com. DOI: 10.1002/imhj.21652 536