Parents' perceptions of a group‐based parenting programme in families with child protection and other family support services in a real‐life setting

Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess parents' satisfaction and perceived usefulness of the Incredible Years ® (IY ®) parenting programme in the Child Protection Services (CPS) context, where children's behaviour problems are common. Evidence-based programmes are rarely offered in CPS, and little is known about how they are perceived by parents. We compared parents (N = 62) with (N = 43) and without (N = 19) CPS contact regarding their satisfaction with the IY ® parenting programme, with information gathered from weekly and final evaluation forms. The attendance rate of parents to the weekly sessions (max 19) was also calculated. Comparisons between CPS and non-CPS clients were analysed using multilevel models. Satisfaction scores ranged between 5.8 and 6.2 (max 7) for all studied domains. Mean attendance rate to the group sessions was 11.5 (SD 5.9), and 74% of participants attended at least nine out of 19 sessions. No group differences emerged in satisfaction or attendance between CPS and non-CPS parents. Parents in CPS committed well to the programme and found it as useful as parents without CPS contact. IY ® appears to be acceptable to parents involved in CPS, and their engagement to the programme can be considered as reasonably good.

The Incredible Years Parenting and Child Treatment Programs: A Randomized Controlled Trial in a Child Welfare Setting in Spain

“…Also, and contrary to expected, no significant effects of IY intervention were found on parenting stress and parental psychological well-being, a finding attributed to the fairly good initial levels of mental health in both the intervention and control groups, and the access of the parents in the control group to high-quality social and mental health services if needed. An additional study by the same authors reported that the parents from child protection services were committed and reasonably well engaged in the IY program, showing similar rates of attendance and satisfaction to non-referred parents (Karjalainen et al, 2020).…”

Parent- and teacher-reported long-term effects of parent training on child conduct problems in families with child protection and other support services: a randomized controlled trial

“…For this reason, parents in the control condition received good care and services from health and social services and from their child-care facilities or school for their various problems during the study period. Also, some of the workers who attended to the families in the control group had received IY ® training, which suggests that they might have used these strategies with some parents in the control group, as was noticed in a survey carried out among Finnish IY Group Leaders [67]. The survey reported that 90% of the workers stated that their whole way of working changed after IY group leader training, becoming more empathic and client-focused, and they were able to support parenting more broadly and concretely.…”

Lastensuojelun tutkimusperustan vahvistamisen haasteita ja mahdollisuuksia

“…Viime aikoina joitakin alun perin muuhun käyttöympäristöön kehitettyjä näyttöön perustuvia menetelmiä on tutkittu myös lastensuojelun asiakasryhmällä hyvin tuloksin. Karjalaisen (2021) tutkimuksen mukaan Ihmeelliset vuodet -vanhemmuus ryhmän avulla voidaan onnistuneesti vähentää lasten käytös ongelmia lastensuojelun piirissä olevissa perheissä [46]. Tulosten mukaan lastensuojelussa asioivat vanhemmat myös sitoutuivat hyvin ohjelmaan ja pitivät sitä yhtä hyödyllisenä kuin vanhemmat, joilla ei ollut yhteyttä lastensuojeluun.…”