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Effectiveness of Group Positive Parenting Program (Triple P) in Changing Child Behavior, Parenting Style, and Parental Adjustment: An Intervention Study in Japan

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An Erratum to this article was published on 21 March 2015

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of a group-based family intervention program known as the Group Positive Parenting Program (Triple P), with families in Japan. Reductions in children’s behavioral problems, changes in dysfunctional parenting practices, and affects on parenting adjustment were examined. Participants of both the intervention and control groups (N = 91 and N = 24, respectively) were recruited from mothers visiting health clinics in Kawasaki City, Kanagawa. Intervention and control groups were assessed in terms of child behavior (Strength and Difficulty Questionnaire, SDQ), parenting style (Parenting Scale, PS), and parenting adjustment (Depression-Anxiety-Stress Scale, DASS; and Parenting Experience Survey, PES), both pre- and postintervention. A repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance was used to determine the intervention’s effects. The SDQ score for the conduct problems subscale indicated a significant intervention effect. In addition, the postintervention scores for all subscales of the PS, the DASS depression subscale and total scores, as well as ratings for perceived difficulty of parenting in the PES, were significantly reduced in the intervention group alone. The PES also revealed that confidence in parenting significantly increased only in the intervention group. Group Triple P is effective in decreasing child conduct problems, dysfunctional parenting practices, depression, anxiety, stress, and the perceived level of parenting difficulty, as well as in improving parenting confidence, among Japanese families.

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Acknowledgments

This research is supported by Research on Children and Families, Health and Labor Sciences Research Grants for the program “Support Activity on Early Detection of Developmental Disorders Using the Infant–Toddler Health Checkups and Its Evaluation,” funded by the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare (PI: Noriko Kato). The authors gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of Dr. Hiroko Ishidu and Dr. Mari Mashiko from Kawasaki City’s local government. We especially appreciate the mothers and children who participated in this study, without whom the study would not have been possible.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Social Medicine, National Research Institute for Child Health and Development, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, 157-8535, Japan

    Takeo Fujiwara

  2. Department of Health Promotion, National Institute of Public Health, Wako-shi, Saitama, Japan

    Noriko Kato

  3. School of Psychology, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

    Matthew R. Sanders

Authors
  1. Takeo Fujiwara
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  2. Noriko Kato
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  3. Matthew R. Sanders
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Takeo Fujiwara.

Additional information

An erratum to this article is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10826-015-0163-1.

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Fujiwara, T., Kato, N. & Sanders, M.R. Effectiveness of Group Positive Parenting Program (Triple P) in Changing Child Behavior, Parenting Style, and Parental Adjustment: An Intervention Study in Japan. J Child Fam Stud 20, 804–813 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-011-9448-1

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