There is a lack of evidence-based, universally accessible parenting education that teaches alternatives to corporal punishment (CP) and other forms of harsh parenting in order to reduce risk of child physical maltreatment (CPM) and promote child well-being. Our long-term goal is to strengthen the evidence base for brief, widely adaptable and sustainable interventions designed to reduce CPM risk in both broad selected and universal populations. The objective of this study is to test the sustained effects of two such interventions, Triple P-Level 2 (L2) and Play Nicely, and to assess their mechanisms of effect using a mixed methods approach. The central hypothesis is that each intervention will be more effective in improving parent and child outcomes than the control condition at 1-year follow-up. The rationale for this study is to fill a critical gap in research on primary prevention parenting interventions that target universal and broad selected populations and that can be applied within primary care and other family service settings to reduce rates of CPM. We plan to test our central hypothesis by pursuing a mixed methods approach via three specific aims: (1) To establish sustained effects (1 year) of two brief parenting interventions on parenting behaviors and child outcomes; (2) To establish the sustained effects (1 year) of two brief parenting interventions on perceived injunctive norms about CP and support for CP use; (3) To gain an in-depth understanding of the impacts of the interventions on parents? choices of discipline strategies, their reasons for choosing them, and relevant social contexts.
Aims 1 and 2 will be accomplished by leveraging an existing randomized controlled trial that has demonstrated short-term (3-month follow-up) effects.
Aim 3, the qualitative phase, will explore reasons for, and barriers to, the interventions' effectiveness, and examine the larger context in which parents discipline their children. The approach is innovative because it addresses an unmet need for accessible, evidence-based universal and broad selective parenting education that can be widely disseminated through primary care and other family service settings. Furthermore, by using a mixed methods approach, it will contribute to a greater understanding of important mechanisms, barriers, and facilitators of program effects. The proposed research is significant because it is expected to provide critical evidence for two brief parenting interventions: Play Nicely and Triple P-L2. First, we expect to find sustained effects of reduced harsh parenting risks, including parental approval for and use of CP, as well as improved child outcomes. Additionally, we expect to gain insight into relevant mechanisms, barriers, facilitators, and social contexts relevant to these interventions and related to CP use. Together, these findings are expected to contribute to a needed rigorous evidence base for parenting education scalable to universal and broad selected populations through primary care and other family service settings. These are critically needed next steps in advancing a public health approach to the primary prevention of CP and CPM.
Universal and broad selective parenting education programs that improve parenting skills, increase parents? understanding of child development, and teach positive child discipline strategies can prevent use of corporal punishment and child physical maltreatment. The proposed research addresses this critical need by investigating brief, relatively low-resource intensive primary prevention parenting programs that can be disseminated widely. By reducing cumulative adverse childhood experiences, which include child physical maltreatment, these interventions are expected to reduce long-term health disparities and risks for major public health problems, such as violence, smoking, obesity, drug abuse, risky sexual behavior, mental health disorders, and heart disease, among others.
