Open AccessThe Experiences of Parents and Facilitators in a Positive Parenting Program
Author(s) -
Lauren Stenason,
Jessie Moorman,
Elisa Romano
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
the qualitative report
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2160-3715
DOI - 10.46743/2160-3715/2020.3738
Subject(s) - psychology , focus group , flexibility (engineering) , positive parenting , developmental psychology , qualitative research , corporal punishment , medical education , social psychology , intervention (counseling) , medicine , sociology , social science , statistics , mathematics , psychiatry , anthropology
The researchers examined facilitators’ and parents’ experiences with the Positive Discipline in Everyday Parenting (PDEP) program through qualitative methodology. PDEP is a primary prevention program that teaches parents to move away from physical punishment and toward conflict resolution and positive parenting that focuses on stages of child development. Using a phenomenological approach, we conducted focus groups using semi-structured interviews with four PDEP facilitators and seven parents who completed the program. Parents and facilitators indicated that PDEP helped them learn new ways of thinking about parenting and contributed to overall changes in their parenting approach, including finding a balance of structured and sensitive parenting practices. Factors that contributed to positive experiences included the coherence and continuity among program modules, use of concrete examples to demonstrate concepts, supportive facilitators and fellow group members, and the provision of childcare. Suggestions for program improvement included the use of even more concrete examples to demonstrate parenting concepts, longer program duration, and greater flexibility in program delivery. These findings are important for further adaptations to the PDEP program. These findings may also be generalized to parenting programs that share similar core principles.