What do parents prefer in relation to program characteristics of parenting interventions?

Carolina Gonzalez. Chile

The development of evidence-based parenting interventions has involved the offer of different formats and characteristics to adapt these programs to parents’ needs. However, we still do not know how to match programs and parents’ needs and preferences. To fill this gap, this study aimed to identify profiles of parental preferences for delivery formats and program features of parenting interventions. This study used a community sample of parents from the International Parenting Survey.

We conducted two-step cluster analyses to determine clusters of parents’ preferences for delivery formats and program features of such programs. In terms of delivery formats, we identified two clusters, i.e., parents who preferred face-to-face formats and parents who preferred media-based formats. There were significant group differences in some demographic, child, and parent variables. Overall, parents who preferred face-to-face formats reported significantly more concerns about their children’s emotional and behavioural adjustment and were less consistent in their discipline, had a poorer relationship with their children and felt more distressed and less confident in their parenting, in comparison to those parents who preferred media-based formats.

Regarding program features, two clusters emerged. Thus, a group of parents preferred personalised features, whereas the other group of parents preferred programs addressing any logistic barriers. Both groups differed significantly in some demographic, child, and parent variables as well. Parents looking for personalised features experienced greater concerns regarding their children’s adjustment and their own parenting, particularly, inconsistency in discipline, use of coercive parenting, less confidence in their parenting, and more psychological distress; when compared to the group of parents who preferred programs addressing logistic barriers.

In conclusion, parents’ preferences need to be taken into account when offering parenting programs at the community level. It is particularly important to understand better parents’ perception of their children’s emotional and behavioural adjustment and how they perceive their own parenting.

REFERENCe

Gonzalez, C., Morawska, A., & Haslam, D. M. (2023). Profiles of parents’ preferences for delivery formats and program features of parenting interventions. Child Psychiatry & Human Development, 54, 770–785. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-021-01284-6

Contact: mcgonzalezu@gmail.com