Digital Program for Strengthening Parenting Competence and Skills

Abstract

Background: Although parenting programs have proven to be effective, they remain difficult to access, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Research Methodology Among 103 caregiver–child dyads with healthy children, we examined the effectiveness of an online positive parenting program on parenting self-efficacy (primary outcome), parenting practices, and behavioral problems in children aged 3–6 years (secondary outcomes). A two-arm parallel-group randomized controlled trial (RCT) with blinded assessment was conducted. The intervention group (n = 52) participated in eight intensive video-conference sessions, while the active control group (n = 51) received weekly general educational content via a messaging application. Outcomes were assessed at baseline, 8 weeks, and 14 weeks.

Results Most parents in both groups had relatively high levels of education and household income. At 14 weeks, the intervention group reported significantly higher parenting self-efficacy (Wald = 9.63, p = 0.008). Both groups reported increased use of authoritative parenting styles (Wald = 15.52, p ≤ 0.001), according to the Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE) model. Compared to baseline, both groups showed significant reductions in children's emotional problems at 14 weeks (mean change: intervention group = −0.44, p = 0.033; control group = −0.30, p = 0.046), and behavioral problems decreased over time (Wald = 7.07, p = 0.029). These findings suggest that the online positive parenting program is a promising and accessible primary prevention strategy for improving parenting capacity and reducing child behavioral problems.

Keywords Healthcare; Medical Research; Positive Parenting

Researchers Sararat Thanthiphusitanont, Ingorn Kangwanthiti, Ketsupa Jirakarn, Phon Treeratworakul and Weerasak Cholchaiya.

Institutional: Chulalongkorn University

Research Methodology Randomize Control Trials

Journal ห้องสมุดแห่งชาติด้านการแพทย์ (National Library of Medicine)

Year: 2565 (2022)

For more information please click; https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11358410/