What do parents find important in a parenting intervention? How does that relate to outcomes?

• In Event: What do parents want? Results-based interventions to promote family engagement and positive parent-child outcomes

Abstract

Introduction: Parenting programs have an established research track to determine effectiveness, but less is known about what parents believe is important about interventions (Butler, Gregg, Calam, & Wittkowski, 2020). However, attention to the mechanisms of change for families is important to better understand parents’ motivation to participate in programs, and what is meaningful for them (Kane, Wood, & Barlow, 2007).

Method: As part of a 12-week parenting intervention focused on building positive childhood experiences and parenting knowledge about child development, parents were asked what they learned in the program immediately after the intervention ended (n=71), 3 months later (n=48), and one year later (n=19).

Results: Several themes emerged immediately after the intervention, including the importance of spending quality time engaged in activities with their children to support a strong relationship (n=14), the importance of regulating parent emotions to support child self-regulation (n=11), information about their child’s current development (n=17), how to help their child remain calm or regain their emotional control (n=4), and better communication and connection with their children (n=7). These parental observations mirror several results found in the intervention, including improved parent-child relationships, less hostility of parents toward their children, and children’s ability to self-regulate. Three months after the intervention ended, parents noted that they learned more about the importance of spending quality time engaged in activities with their children (n=9), the importance of regulating parent emotions to support child self-regulation (n=6), information about their child’s current development (n=12), how to help their child remain calm or regain their emotional control (n=2), and better communication and connection with their children (n=7). One year after the intervention ended, parents still remembered the influence of the intervention, noting the importance of spending quality time engaged in activities with their children (n=5), the importance of regulating parent emotions to support child self-regulation (n=3), information about their child’s current development (n=2), how to help their child remain calm or regain their emotional control (n=2), and better communication and connection with their children (n=1). Data collection continues.

Discussion: Parents understood the purpose of the intervention well, and were engaged in the intervention, as evidenced their 88% attendance rate. When looking back at the intervention, what they found to be salient matched the purpose of the intervention immediately afterward as well as 3 and 12 months later. It is noteworthy that parents continued to find the intervention important one year later. It is recommended that as part of intervention data collection, interventionists ask what parents found to be important from the intervention as part of ongoing data collection. Such actions can help to ensure that interventions retain participants through meeting parents’ needs, and increase the likelihood of positive outcomes for families as a result of participating in interventions.

Authors

• Vonda Jump Norman, Utah State University
  Presenting Author

• Katie Griffiths