and reach thousands of daily visitors
19 September
No 1219
Parent Training
How far is it possible to help and support children and families where there are difficulties through the means of a parenting training course? How effective might such a form of intervention be when compared with direct groupwork with children and young people? This article seeks to begin to answer these questions. It describes and reflects upon the results of a recent action research project in the United Kingdom that evaluated the effectiveness of a parenting training intervention for families where there where children and young people with medium range behaviour difficulties, compared with a groupwork intervention with a matched sample of children and young people that was focused on improving their social skills, self-esteem and feelings of self-efficacy.
However, it seems that much that is written about parenting, the need for parenting training, and particularly the effects of parenting programmes is based on informal feedback or rhetoric rather than rigorous evaluation (Barker, Campbell and Place, 2000; Barlow and Coren, 2003; Miller and Sambell, 2003). Additionally, there is a danger of oversimplifying what we mean and understand by ‘parenting’. It is a complex and diverse area, and this complexity is echoed but not always reflected by the range of ambiguity in respect of state policies and professional practices in relation to intervention and parenting (Henricson, 2003). To assist in the process of developing practice based on evidence rather than simple exhortation, this paper presents research findings in respect of a time limited parenting programme, the Looking Forward Project, undertaken recently in the North East of England.
In the United Kingdom there has been an increasing drive at a social policy level to look at the ways in which health and welfare services can become `joined up’ to more effectively improve the lives of citizens. One example of this approach was the formation of Health Action Zones, (HAZs) which were time limited initiatives that had a specific role:
“HAZs are multi-agency partnerships between the NHS, local authorities (including social services), the voluntary and business sectors and local communities. Their aim is to tackle inequalities in health in the most deprived areas of the country through health and social care modernisation programmes as well as tackling key priorities such as CHD, cancer and mental health, and issues such as teenage pregnancy, drug (misuse) prevention in vulnerable and young people and smoking cessation, they are addressing other interdependent and wider determinants of health, such as housing, education and employment, and linking with other initiatives. HAZs also act as trailblazers for new ways of working and integrating these services and approaches being developed into mainÂÂstream activity.†(www.ohn.gov.uk/ohn/partnerships/haz.htm)
R.W BARKER, S. MILLER, M.PLACE & J. REYNOLDS
BARKER, R., CAMPBELL, S., & PLACE, M. (2000). Issues and models in parenting – Review for Tyne and Wear HAZ. Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne.
BARLOW J, & COREN, E. (2003). Parent-training programmes for improving maternal psychosocial health (Cochrane Review). In: The Cochrane Library, Issue 1, 2003. Oxford: Update Software.
HENRICSON, C. (2003). Government and parenting: Is there a case for a policy review and a parents code? Joseph Rowntree Foundation, York.
MILLER, S., & SAMBELL, K. (2003). What do parents feel they need? Implications of parents’ perÂÂspectives for the facilitation of parenting programmes. Children and Society, 17, 32-44.
