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Effects of Early Parenting Interventions on Parents and Infants: A Meta-Analytic Review

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Abstract

This systematic review evaluates the efficacy of parenting interventions on parent, infant and parent-infant relationship outcome measures for parents of infants under 12 months old. Parent outcomes examined included competence, and confidence; baby outcomes included infant behaviours of crying, settling, and sleeping problems and parent-infant relationship outcomes included parental responsiveness. Systematic searches of five databases were carried out. In total, 36 randomised controlled trials over the past 35 years were included in the meta-analyses, with a total of 4880 participants. Interventions were carried out either during pregnancy or within the first 12 months after birth and involved teaching specific strategies and provision of information on infant development and behaviour. Mean effect sizes were obtained using a structural equation modelling (SEM) approach to meta-analysis. Heterogeneity was found on parent responsiveness and infant sleep. Potential moderator variables were assessed for these two outcomes using the SEM approach. Results showed that early parenting interventions are effective in improving parental responsiveness (d = 0.77), and improving or preventing infant sleep problems (d = 0.24), but not crying problems (d = 0.27) possibly due to low power. No conclusions could be drawn in regards to parental competence or confidence. Moderator analysis showed that for interventions aimed at improving responsiveness, briefer interventions were more effective than longer ones; and studies published more recently reported smaller effects than older studies. No other moderators influenced the assessed intervention outcomes. The findings of this study provide further evidence for the positive effects of early parenting interventions for infants under 12 months of age, however future research is needed to assess intervention effects on parental competence and confidence.

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This study was unfunded.

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  1. The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

    Mandy Mihelic & Alina Morawska

  2. University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Ania Filus

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  1. Mandy Mihelic
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Correspondence to Mandy Mihelic.

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The Parenting and Family Support Centre is partly funded by royalties stemming from published resources of the Triple P—Positive Parenting Program, which is developed and owned by The University of Queensland (UQ). Royalties are also distributed to the Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences at UQ and contributory authors of published Triple P resources. Triple P International (TPI) Pty Ltd is a private company licensed by Uniquest Pty Ltd on behalf of UQ, to publish and disseminate Triple P worldwide. The authors of this report have no share or ownership of TPI. Dr Alina Morawska receives royalties from TPI. TPI had no involvement in the study design, collection, analysis or interpretation of data, or writing of this report. Dr Mandy Mihelic is an employee at UQ and was a student at UQ at the time this study was developed and carried out. Ania Filus has no conflict to declare.

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Mihelic, M., Morawska, A. & Filus, A. Effects of Early Parenting Interventions on Parents and Infants: A Meta-Analytic Review. J Child Fam Stud 26, 1507–1526 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-017-0675-y

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