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Which Risk Factors for Child Maltreatment Predict Mothers’ Enrollment in a Parenting Support Program?

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Abstract

Parenting support programs are an effective means of preventing child maltreatment. However, these programs are often criticized for their limited ability to enroll and engage the parents who need them most. The present study aimed to determine which risk factors associated with child maltreatment predicted mothers’ enrollment in the Triple P—Positive Parenting Program in Quebec. To this end, 240 mothers of children aged 6 months to 8 years enrolled in Triple P were compared with 834 mothers randomly selected from the general population. The results suggest that mothers who perceived their child to be more difficult, used fewer positive parenting practices, and reported a lower parenting sense of competence were more likely to enroll in the program. Being unemployed, having a lower income, and being a single parent or part of a stepfamily also increased the mothers’ likelihood of participating in Triple P. These results suggest that Triple P was implemented in such a way as to attract families presenting various risk factors, which is promising in a child maltreatment prevention context.

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Funding

This research was funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, grant #895-2011-1016.

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  1. Université Laval, Quebec City, Canada

    Florence Filion & Marie-Hélène Gagné

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  1. Florence Filion
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  2. Maude Lachapelle
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  3. Lisa-Marie Gagné
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  4. Marie-Hélène Gagné
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Correspondence to Marie-Hélène Gagné.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans (Canada) and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. The Research Ethics Committee of Université Laval (#2014-079) approved the survey procedures. Ethical approval for research with parents enrolling in Triple P was obtained under the Multi-Centre Research Ethics Review Mechanism established by the Quebec Ministry of Health and Social Services, from the Research Ethics Committee of the Centre jeunesse de Québec (#MP-CJQ-14-14-020).

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Filion, F., Lachapelle, M., Gagné, LM. et al. Which Risk Factors for Child Maltreatment Predict Mothers’ Enrollment in a Parenting Support Program?. Prev Sci 21, 1007–1016 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-020-01138-y

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