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Effective Intervention Programming: Improving Maternal Adjustment Through Parent Education

  • Research - Practice Relationships
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Abstract

This study assessed the secondary effects of a parent training intervention program on maternal adjustment, with a focus on understanding ways in which program efficacy differed for participants as a function of whether or not their children had behavior problems. Mothers (N = 99) of toddlers (2–3 years of age) were randomly assigned to receive one of three levels of intervention: (1) informational booklet (2) booklet + face-to-face parent training sessions, or (3) booklet + web-based parent training sessions. Findings indicated that all levels of intervention were associated with increases in maternal well-being for participants with typically developing children. Mothers of toddlers with behavior problems, however, did not benefit from receiving only the booklet but significantly benefitted from receiving either the face-to-face or web-based interventions. Findings are discussed in terms of efficient and efficacious program dissemination and the resulting implications for public policy.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) of Health and Human Services (HHS) award # 90XP0056/01. Authors Bert and Farris were predoctoral trainees on NIH grant # HD-07184 at the time the intervention was administered, and would like to acknowledge Christina Stile, John G. Borkowski, Sharon L. Ramey, and all other contributors to Adventures in Parenting.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Penn State Harrisburg, 777 W. Harrisburg Pike, Middletown, PA, 17057, USA

    Jaelyn R. Farris

  2. University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, 73069, USA

    Shannon S. Carothers Bert

  3. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, 38105, USA

    Jody S. Nicholson

  4. University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, 29208, USA

    Kerrie Glass

  5. University of Notre Dame, South Bend, IN, 46556-4635, USA

    John G. Borkowski

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  1. Jaelyn R. Farris
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  5. John G. Borkowski
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Correspondence to Jaelyn R. Farris.

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Farris, J.R., Bert, S.S.C., Nicholson, J.S. et al. Effective Intervention Programming: Improving Maternal Adjustment Through Parent Education. Adm Policy Ment Health 40, 211–223 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-011-0397-1

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