A community led approach to delivery of the Parents Plus Children's Programme for the parents of children aged 6–11

Resumen

Childhood internalising and externalising disorders tend to persist when left untreated and place affected individuals at higher risk of compromised outcomes. The social costs include school dropout, unemployment, family breakdown and substance abuse. Effective preventive interventions require a public health approach. The aim of this experimental study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Parents Plus Children's Programme (PPCP) delivered in community and school contexts by frontline professionals from diverse backgrounds. Participating parents with children aged 6 to 11 were randomly assigned to a Treatment Group (n = 44) or a no treatment Control Group (n = 31). The efficacy of training was assessed using self-report questionnaires completed by participants in both Treatment and Control groups. Significant post treatment improvements were recorded on measures of parenting-related stress, child problem behaviour and parent satisfaction with medium to large effect sizes. Treatment group results were maintained at six-month follow-up. These results support the efficacy of the PPCP as a community led intervention with potential to prevent and interrupt child behaviour problems through supported parenting practice, before problems become critical and entrenched. Los trastornos interiorizados o exteriorizados durante la niñez tienden a persistir cuando no se tratan y conllevan mayor riesgo de consecuencias negativas. El costo social incluye deserción escolar, desempleo, desintegración familiar y abuso de drogas. Las intervenciones preventivas efectivas requieren un enfoque de salud pública. El objetivo de este estudio experimental fue evaluar la eficacia del Programa Infantil Parents Plus (PPCP, por sus siglas en inglés) que se aplicó en contextos comunitarios y escolares por profesionales de servicios básicos de ayuda. A los padres con niños de 6–11 años se les asignó aleatoriamente al Grupo de Tratamiento (n = 44) o Grupo Control (n = 31). La eficacia del tratamiento se evaluó mediante autoinformes. Después del tratamiento se registraron mejoras significativas, con efectos medianos a grandes, en el nivel de estrés relacionado con la crianza de los hijos, los problemas de comportamiento infantil y en la satisfacción de los padres. Los resultados se mantuvieron en un seguimiento a seis meses. Se avala la eficacia del PPCP como intervención comunitaria con potencial para prevenir problemas de conducta infantiles mediante apoyo ofrecido a los padres en la práctica de la crianza antes de que se arraiguen los problemas y se vuelvan críticos.

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Cómo citar (APA 7)

Hand, A., McDonnell, E., Honari, B., & Sharry, J. (2013). A community led approach to delivery of the Parents Plus Children's Programme for the parents of children aged 6–11. International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1016/s1697-2600(13)70011-5