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Assessing the Coherence of Parents' Short Narratives Regarding their Child Using the Five-Minute Speech Sample Procedure
Published on: September 19, 2019
Parenting and child mental health
Rachael Ryan1, Christine O'Farrelly1, Paul Ramchandani1,2
1The Centre for Psychiatry, Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, UK.
Insights
Early intervention through parenting programmes can prevent childhood behaviour problems. These evidence-based strategies support parents and improve children
Area of Science:
- Child Psychology
- Developmental Psychology
- Public Health
Background:
- Child behaviour problems are common, with 30% of GP consultations addressing them.
- Early identification of behaviour problems in infancy and toddlerhood is crucial.
- Parenting quality is a significant factor in child development and amenable to intervention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the effectiveness of widely used parenting programmes for young children.
- To highlight resources for primary care practitioners supporting families.
- To critically evaluate early intervention strategies for preventing enduring behavioural issues.
Main Methods:
- Review of six widely evaluated and available parenting programmes in the UK.
- Inclusion of NICE-recommended programmes (Incredible Years, Triple P).
- Examination of programmes for different age groups (Parent-Infant Psychotherapy, Family Nurse Partnership) and video feedback interventions.
Main Results:
- Several effective parenting programmes exist, offering tiered and flexible approaches.
- Programmes like Incredible Years and Triple P are recommended for school-aged children.
- Interventions such as Parent-Infant Psychotherapy and video feedback target younger children and parent-child interactions.
Conclusions:
- Parenting programmes are effective in intercepting behaviour problems in early childhood.
- Early intervention is key to preventing long-term negative impacts on children's life chances.
- Supporting parents is a critical strategy for improving child mental health outcomes.
Abstract:
This paper reviews parenting programmes and their effectiveness with families of young children and highlights additional resources for primary care practitioners. Typically, 30% of GP consultations concern child behaviour problems and established behaviour problems can have lasting effects on children's life chances. These problems can be identified in infancy and toddlerhood.Parenting is a key risk factor in their development and maintenance, yet is also amenable to change. In this paper we consider six parenting programmes that are widely evaluated and/or available in the U.K. and their evidence base . These include two NICE recommended parenting programmes (Incredible Years and Triple P), which offer tiered and flexible parenting programmes; predominantly for parents of school-age children. We also review Parent-Infant Psychotherapy, which is typically for parents of younger children. Fourth is Family Nurse Partnership, an intensive programme to support young, first-time mothers. Finally we consider, video feedback programmes which use video to focus in detail on parents' interactions with their children, including Video Feedback to Promote Positive Parenting and Video Interactive Guidance. These interventions demonstrate the range of approaches which are being used to intervene early in children's lives to try to prevent the development of enduring behavioural problems.
Why This Matters To Me:
It is becoming increasingly clear that the origins of many mental health problems lie in childhood. Family factors, including the quality of care that parents provide for their children, can make a huge difference to children's early life pathways, for better or for worse. Understanding how best to intervene to support parents is a key challenge. In this article, we critically review the most widely used parenting programmes for parents of young children. It is imperative that we judge these early interventions to high standards so that we are offering children the best start in life.
Key Message:
Parenting programmes offer a means to intercept behaviour problems in early childhood before they become established.
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