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Journal of Child and Family Studies

, Volume 24, Issue 7, pp 1917–1931 | Cite as

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
Original Paper
First Online:

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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Notes

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the Swedish National Institute of Public Health for financial support, the parents who took part in the study, contact persons in the municipalities/city districts for their recruitment of parents, and group leaders for performing the intervention.

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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014

Authors and Affiliations

  • Pia Enebrink
    • 1
  • Maja Danneman
    • 2
  • Valeria Benvestito Mattsson
    • 3
  • Malin Ulfsdotter
    • 1
  • Camilla Jalling
    • 4
  • Lene Lindberg
    • 5
  1. 1.Division of Psychology, Department of Clinical NeurosciencesKarolinska InstitutetStockholmSweden
  2. 2.Nyköping Young Adult ClinicSörmland County CouncilNyköpingSweden
  3. 3.Behavioral Medicine Pain Treatment ServiceKarolinska University HospitalStockholmSweden
  4. 4.STAD, Stockholm Centre for Psychiatry Research and EducationKarolinska InstitutetStockholmSweden
  5. 5.Department of Public Health SciencesKarolinska InstitutetStockholmSweden

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