Attachment, behavior problems and interventions

This paper puts forward an explanation for the frequent co-occurrence of attachment and behavior problems in children and the implications of this for interventions; presents preliminary evidence that some behaviorally based parenting programs reduce child behavior problems through two separate, but mutually reinforcing, processes—improved attachment relationships and increased parental use of behavior management techniques; and suggests next steps for the field to improve outcomes for those children who, without interventions that addresses both relationship building and behavior management, are at risk of significant long-term difficulties

Web-based parenting support:Development of the COPING Confident Parenting programme

Parents have the most significant impact on children’s development and the key parenting factors that promote child development and wellbeing are well known. Furthermore, many behavioural, social and emotional problems in children are associated with poor parenting practices. Parenting interventions that address parental skill deficits and teach positive parenting principles based on social learning theory are effective and are the recommended treatment for conduct disorder. Alongside the development of treatment programmes, universal parenting programmes have been developed; many present the same core parenting principles but their rationales vary from promoting children’s development to addressing common behavioural challenges and the evidence for these programmes is less well established. Most parents now have internet access and are making daily use of it, including seeking advice on parenting matters but that advice is often anecdotal and lacking evidence. In the meantime, a small number of web-based programmes, including parenting programmes have been developed and evaluated. This paper summarises the rationale for web-based universal programmes to support parents and briefly describes the history, content and a summary of the initial research on the COPING (confident parent internet guide) programme developed by the authors. The paper concludes with suggestions for future research directions

Targeted vs universal provision of support in high-risk communities: comparison of characteristics in two populations recruited to parenting interventions

Purpose – To compare the characteristics of parents and children recruited for two randomised-controlled trials (RCTs) of parenting support in disadvantaged communities in Wales in order to explore the effects of community-based vs individual-based targeting in early prevention. Design/methodology/approach – Parents from high-risk disadvantaged communities in Wales, where additional early intervention services were targeted as part of a Welsh Government early intervention strategy, were recruited to two RCTs of parenting interventions. In the first study parents of targeted three- and four-year-old children, who were screened, and deemed at risk of long-term problems, were recruited from Sure Start (SS) areas in Wales. In the second study parents of one- and two-year-old children living in disadvantaged Flying Start (FS) areas were recruited, with residence within the FS area being the only recruitment criterion. Findings – FS areas are more strategically targeted as communities with a greater percentage of families with high levels of socio-economic disadvantage and associated risk than SS areas. Families in the toddler parenting trial based in FS areas, recruited without any additional screening, were experiencing higher levels of socio-economic deprivation, mental health problems and parenting stress as well as other known risks to child outcomes than the general population. However, when compared with the individually targeted population recruited for the SS study, they were shown to be experiencing significantly lower levels of these and other risks factors for poor child outcomes than the sample recruited for the SS trial where recruitment was based on known child risk factors. The paper discusses these findings and explores the implications of targeting by geographical area (community level targeting) alone vs targeting individual families by known risk factors. The findings suggest that screening measures would identify children at greatest risk of poor outcomes and whose families might benefit from additional targeted services. Suggestions for possible screening measures are also made. Originality/value – This paper contributes to discussion about effective ways of allocating limited resources to best effect. </jats:sec