Evaluation of a primary care based parent training programme: a randomised controlled trial of effectiveness in reducing children's behaviour problems

Plain English summary of protocol

Background and study aims
Childhood behaviour problems are an important public health issue because of their prevalence, stability over time, poor prognosis in terms of future physical and mental health problems, crime, drug and alcohol misuse, and cost to society. A child’s behaviour is associated with the parenting they receive. Parents differ in how they raise their children and what style of parenting they pursue. There are many influences on parenting styles, including culture, parental mental health, education and a wealth of literature on child-rearing. Some parenting styles appear to be more helpful for the child’s development, others less so. The best child outcomes appear to be related to parenting characterised by warmth, affection, caring, clear communication, consistent discipline, having confidence in parenting and not over-controlling the child. Only about a third of parents have adopted the most helpful parenting styles.

One method of developing more helpful parenting practices is through the use of group-based parenting programmes. These may be based on a number of different theoretical principles, and several different types of parenting programme are currently available. The Webster-Stratton Parents and Children Series parenting programme was found to develop skills most closely matching those identified as key for best parenting . This programme aims to reduce child behaviour problems, strengthen the relationship between parents and their children, reduce over-controlling parental behaviours, and develop authoritative parenting skills such as the use of clear commands, setting limits and providing consistent discipline. The methods include handouts, discussion of video clips, small group discussions, role-play, home practice of parenting skills each week, self-management and cognitive self-control.

This study aims to answer the following questions:
1. Does the Webster-Stratton parenting programme, delivered by health visitors in primary care, meet its aim to improve child behaviour problems (effectiveness) and other objectives (to be easy, useful and appropriate)?
2. What are the effects of the programme on the parents in terms of mental health, relationships with their child, parenting competence and confidence, and level of support for their parenting (impact)?
3. Is the benefit from the parenting programme confined to families with children already in the clinical range for behaviour problems, or do other families also benefit (the case for targeted or population interventions)?

Who can participate?
Parents registered at Bury-Knowle GP surgery, with children aged between 2 and 8 years and scoring at or above the median on the Eyberg Child Behaviour Inventory questionnaire.

What does the study involve?
Participants were randomly allocated to one of two groups. One group received the Webster-Stratton parenting intervention, a 10-week parent-training programme (one 2-hour session per week) run by a trained health visitor. The other group did not receive the intervention, only the usual health visitor advice available through the GP practice.

What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
Possible benefits include improvements in the children’s behaviour and improvements in maternal anxiety, depression and self-esteem. No risks were identified

Where is the study run from?
Health Services Research Unit, Oxford University (UK).

When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
The study ran from July 1999 to 2000.

Who is funding the study?
NHS Executive South East (UK).

Who is the main contact?
Jacoby Patterson
jacoby@ukgateway.net

Contact information

Study information

Eligibility

Locations

Countries of recruitment

• England
• United Kingdom

Study participating centre

Sponsor information

Funders

Funder type

Government

Results and Publications

Study outputs