Evaluation of the PEP Program
Research by the Center for Applied Research in Human Development & UConn Extension (2018).
Hyanghee Lee, M.A; Jonelle Reynolds, M.S.; Alexander Reid, M.A.; & Cathleen Love, Ph.D., UConn.
Study Background
The goals of the People Empowering People (PEP) program are to promote individual assets, relational skills, and community engagement. This extension program targets ethnically diverse groups of participants. Participating programs include a community project component, incorporating activities designed to enhance quality of life. The program is based on a community capacity approach that views individual and family resilience as achieved through formal and informal supports at the community level (Farrell, Bowen, & Goodrich, 2014). A direct or indirect interaction between social environment and individuals is important in promoting individual and family assets, which benefits individuals, families, and communities. A primary component of the PEP program involves connecting individuals to their community, which is achieved through pairing community needs and community resources. The present study evaluates changes at the individual, relationship, and community level in participants who attended 10-12 interactive life skill-training sessions and completed a community project.
Measures
Individual Level
• Self-Assertive Efficacy (Bandura, 2006). A 4-item scale measured how well participants perceive their beliefs in their capabilities or express opinions in a difficult and challenging situation.
• Mastery scale (Pearlin & Schooler, 1978). A 7-item scale was used to measure the extent to which an individual can manage his or her life when confronting stressful life situations.
Relationship Level
• Kansas Parental Satisfaction (James, et al., 1985). Parental satisfaction was measured by the 3-item scale. It included personal satisfaction as a parent, including the behaviors of one’s children and one’s relationship with one’s children.
• Family Problem-Solving Communication (McCubbin, McCubbin, & Thompson, 1996). The quality of family communication was measured using a 10-item scale.
Community Level
• Civic Responsibility Survey (Furco, Muller, & Ammon, 1998). The 10-item scale was used to assess the perception of community involvement including connection to community, civic awareness, and civic efficacy.
Results
Repeated measure analyses revealed significant positive changes at three levels: individual (e.g., self-assertive efficacy, the sense of mastery), relationships (e.g., parent-child relationships, family problem-solving skills), and community (e.g., engagement). In other words, participants reported increases in their ability to express themselves confidently toward others and the sense of control over oneself and one’s environment. Furthermore, our results were consistent with previous findings (e.g., Kessler & Essex, 1982; Thoits, 1987), suggesting that those who were not living with a significant other were more likely to increase in the sense of mastery than those who were living with a significant other.
Discussion
Findings suggest that the UConn PEP program was effective in influencing positive changes in participants’ life skills, personal relationships, and community engagement among an ethnically diverse sample. However, the results regarding participants’ attitude changes over time were somewhat less conclusive. More intensive evaluation methods, including a comparison group or interviews would improve the conclusions. Future evaluations of this program will require further efforts to maximize follow-up response to delineate program effects in the long term.