Efficacy of a positive parental practices promotion program in families of Chilean pre-school children

Plain English summary of protocol

Background and study aims
It is generally considered that children’s experiences can help to shape their development. There is a lot of evidence that suggests that early parenting interventions (programs) can significantly enhance parenting skills, as well as parent-child relationships and child wellbeing. A growing number of children show signs of behavioral problems at home and at school. Many studies have shown that this problem behavior in young children can get worse with age, and so it is important that behavioral problems are addressed early on to ensure healthy childhood development. Parenting interventions have been proven to be very successful at improving child behavior. The most effective of these programs are shown to teach parents how to stimulate and encourage good behaviour and appropriately deal with bad behaviors, while avoiding being overly punitive (inflicting punishment) and harsh. This study is looking at a new parenting intervention called the Day UdeC Program, which has been designed at the University of Concepción. The aim of this study is to test whether the Day UdeC Program can help to improve parenting practices and parent-child relationships.

Who can participate?
Families with pre-school age children (between 2 and 6) who attend educational centres in Concepcion, Chile.

What does the study involve?
Educational centres are randomly allocated to one of two groups. Parents/guardians of children who attend educational centres in the first group take part in the Day UdeC Program. This involves attending six, weekly sessions which last for around two hours. In these sessions, parents/guardians are taught skills to strengthen their relationship with their children and learn positive discipline strategies (helping the child to develop a conscience so that they behave properly in a loving and supportive way). Those in the second group do not take part in the Day UdeC Program during the study period, but are able to attend the program after all of the study assessments have been completed. At the start of the study and then again after the program ends (8-9 weeks), participants in both groups complete a number of questionnaires in order to test their parenting skills as well as their overall mood.

What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
Participants may benefit from being able to improve their parenting skills. There are no risks involved with taking part in this study.

Where is the study run from?
Educational centers (public and subsidized schools, and centers from JUNJI and Integra Foundation) in Concepcion (Chile)

When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
March 2015 to October 2016

Who is funding the study?
National Commission for Scientific and Technological Research FONDEF Program Ideas (Chile)

Who is the main contact?
Dr Félix Cova
fecova@udec.cl

Contact information

Dr Félix Cova
Public

Faculty of Social Sciences
Dpt. Of Psychology
University of Concepción
University District s/n
Concepción
4030000
Chile

ORCID ID	0000-0002-9290-6875
Phone	+56 41 2204301
Email	fecova@udec.cl

Study information

Eligibility

Locations

Countries of recruitment

• Chile

Study participating centres

Sponsor information

University of Concepción
University/education

Barrio Universitario s/n
Concepción
4030000
Chile

Website	www.udec.cl
"ROR"	https://ror.org/0460jpj73

Funders

Funder type

Research organisation

Results and Publications

Study outputs

Editorial Notes

10/10/2018: Publication reference added.
10/10/2017: Internal edits.