ABC for Parents: Pilot Study of a Universal 4-Session Program Shows Increased Parenting Skills, Self-efficacy and Child Well-Being

Pia Enebrink; Maja Danneman; Valeria Benvestito Mattsson; Malin Ulfsdotter; Camilla Jalling; Lene Lindberg

doi:10.1007/s10826-014-9992-6

Journal of Child and Family Studies

July 2015, Volume 24, Issue 7, pp 1917–1931

ABC for Parents: Pilot Study of a Universal 4-Session Program Shows Increased Parenting Skills, Self-efficacy and Child Well-Being

Authors
Authors and affiliations

Pia EnebrinkEmail author
Maja Danneman
Valeria Benvestito Mattsson
Malin Ulfsdotter
Camilla Jalling
Lene Lindberg

Original Paper

First Online:: 03 July 2014

DOI: 10.1007/s10826-014-9992-6

Cite this article as:: Enebrink, P., Danneman, M., Benvestito Mattsson, V. et al. J Child Fam Stud (2015) 24: 1917. doi:10.1007/s10826-014-9992-6

3 Citations

Abstract

The aim of the present pilot study was to provide an initial evaluation of a brief, 4-session, universal health promoting parenting group program, the “ABC”. We examined the effects of the program on improving parental strategies, parental self-efficacy, and child well-being. We also hypothesized that in a health promoting intervention implemented in the general population, increased parental self-efficacy and parental strategies would be associated with improvements in child well-being after 4 months. Parents living in 11 municipalities and local community agencies in Sweden enrolled in the project were invited to participate in the study. A repeated measurement within group design was used to assess the effects. In total, parents of 104 children aged 2–12 years participated in the ABC-study. Parental and child outcomes were evaluated before, after the intervention, and at a 4-month follow-up with parental self-report questionnaires. Paired t tests and ANOVA repeated measures showed statistically significant improvements of parental strategies (showing guidance, empathy/understanding, having rules/boundaries), parental self-efficacy (self-competence, knowledge/experience), and child well-being (emotional well-being, independence) from pre- to post measurement, with small to moderate effect sizes. Improvements were maintained at the 4-month follow-up, apart from changes in parental knowledge. University education and increased pre- to post improvements in self-efficacy predicted child emotional well-being at the 4-month follow-up. The findings suggest that the ABC-group intervention was effective in terms of improving child well-being, parental strategies and self-efficacy. This pilot study provides promising evidence for the ABC as a universal parenting program but further more rigorous evaluations are needed.

Keywords

Health promotion Parenting program Prevention Pilot study Self-efficacy

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Authors and Affiliations

Pia Enebrink
- 1
Email author
Maja Danneman
- 2
Valeria Benvestito Mattsson
- 3
Malin Ulfsdotter
- 1
Camilla Jalling
- 4
Lene Lindberg
- 5

1.Division of Psychology, Department of Clinical NeurosciencesKarolinska InstitutetStockholmSweden
2.Nyköping Young Adult ClinicSörmland County CouncilNyköpingSweden
3.Behavioral Medicine Pain Treatment ServiceKarolinska University HospitalStockholmSweden
4.STAD, Stockholm Centre for Psychiatry Research and EducationKarolinska InstitutetStockholmSweden
5.Department of Public Health SciencesKarolinska InstitutetStockholmSweden

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ABC for Parents: Pilot Study of a Universal 4-Session Program Shows Increased Parenting Skills, Self-efficacy and Child Well-Being

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