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Parenting in the community: A service evaluation of a universal, voluntary sector parenting intervention
Author(s) -
Gardner E.,
Woolgar M.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of community psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.585
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1520-6629
pISSN - 0090-4392
DOI - 10.1002/jcop.21942
Subject(s) - competence (human resources) , psychology , parenting skills , positive parenting , developmental psychology , intervention (counseling) , context (archaeology) , turnover , negativity effect , child rearing , clinical psychology , social psychology , psychiatry , paleontology , biology , management , economics
Abstract Evidence based parenting programs have been shown to improve parenting competence and reduce child behavior problems. More rigorous evaluations of such programs are needed in community contexts. This study provides such an evaluation of The Parenting Children Course, a voluntary sector program that is being run both Live and on DVD within a church context. A total of 225 parents participated in the study. Standardized questionnaires were used to measure key parenting variables before and after the course, and at follow‐up 3 months later. Taking the course improved parents’ confidence and reduced parental negativity, but did not improve positive parenting skills. Parents reported that child behavior and family functioning also improved by the end of the course. There were no signs of decay at 3‐month follow‐up. Strengths and limitations of the study, implications for clinical practice and directions for future research, are discussed.