Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Meta-Analysis
. 2010 Mar 17:(3):CD003680.
doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD003680.pub2.

Group-based parent-training programmes for improving emotional and behavioural adjustment in children from birth to three years old

Jane Barlow  1 , Nadja Smailagic, Michael Ferriter, Cathy Bennett, Hannah Jones
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Group-based parent-training programmes for improving emotional and behavioural adjustment in children from birth to three years old

Jane Barlow et al. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. .

Update in

Abstract

Background: Emotional and behavioural problems in children are common. Research suggests that parenting has an important role to play in helping children to become well-adjusted, and that the first few months and years are especially important. Parenting programmes may have a role to play in improving the emotional and behavioural adjustment of infants and toddlers. This review is applicable to parents and carers of children up to three years eleven months although some studies included children up to five years old.

Objectives: To:a) establish whether group-based parenting programmes are effective in improving the emotional and behavioural adjustment of children three years of age or less (i.e. maximum mean age of 3 years 11 months); b) assess the role of parenting programmes in the primary prevention of emotional and behavioural problems.

Search strategy: We searched CENTRAL, MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Sociofile, Social Science Citation Index, ASSIA, National Research Register (NRR) and ERIC. The searches were originally run in 2000 and then updated in 2007/8.

Selection criteria: Randomised controlled trials of group-based parenting programmes that had used at least one standardised instrument to measure emotional and behavioural adjustment.

Data collection and analysis: The results for each outcome in each study have been presented, with 95% confidence intervals. Where appropriate the results have been combined in a meta-analysis using a random-effects model.

Main results: Eight studies were included in the review. There were sufficient data from six studies to combine the results in a meta-analysis for parent-reports and from three studies to combine the results for independent assessments of children's behaviour post-intervention. There was in addition, sufficient information from three studies to conduct a meta-analysis of both parent-report and independent follow-up data. Both parent-report (SMD -0.25; CI -0.45 to -0.06), and independent observations (SMD -0.54; CI -0.84 to -0.23) of children's behaviour produce significant results favouring the intervention group post-intervention. A meta-analysis of follow-up data indicates a significant result favouring the intervention group for parent-reports (SMD -0.28; CI -0.51 to -0.04) but a non-significant result favouring the intervention group for independent observations (SMD -0.19; CI -0.42, 0.05).

Authors' conclusions: The findings of this review provide some support for the use of group-based parenting programmes to improve the emotional and behavioural adjustment of children with a maximum mean age of three years eleven months. There is, insufficient evidence to reach firm conclusions regarding the role that such programmes might play in the primary prevention of such problems. There are also limited data available concerning the long-term effectiveness of these programmes. Further research is needed.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Methodological quality graph: review authors’ judgements about each methodological quality item presented as percentages across all included studies
Figure 2
Figure 2. Methodological quality summary: review authors’ judgements about each methodological quality item for each included study
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Update of

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

References to studies included in this review

    1. Bradley S, Jadda DA, Brody J, Landy S, Tallet S, Watson W, et al. Brief psychoeducational parenting program: an evaluation and 1-year follow-up. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. 2003;42(10):1171–8. - PubMed
    1. Cummings LL. Parent training: A program for parents of two- and three-year-olds. PhD, Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, Michigan, USA. Central Michigan University; Michigan, USA: 2000. pp. 1–82.
    1. Gross D, Fogg L, Tucker S. The efficacy of parent training for promoting positive parent-toddler relationships. Research in nursing and health. 1995;18:489–99. - PubMed
    1. Gross D, Fogg L, Webster-Stratton C, Garvey C, Julion W, Grady J. Parent training of toddlers in day care in low-income urban communities. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 2003;71(2):261–78. - PubMed
    1. Hutchings J, Bywater T, Daley D, Gardner F, Whitaker C, Jones K, et al. Parenting intervention in Sure Start services for children at risk of developing conduct disorder: pragmatic randomised controlled trial. British Medical Journal. 2007;334(7595):678–82. MEDLINE: 10600. - PMC - PubMed

References to studies excluded from this review

    1. Adesso VJ, Lipson JW. Group training of parents as therapists for the children. Behavior Therapy. 1981;12(5):625–33.
    1. Barber JG. Evaluating parent education groups: effects on sense of competence and social isolation. Research on Social Work Practice. 1992;2(1):28–38.
    1. Baydar N. Email correspondence clarifying the age of the trial participants. Personal communication. 2008 May 5;

    1. *

    2. Baydar N RM, Webster Stratton C. The role of mental health factors and program engagement in the effectiveness of a preventive parenting program for Head Start mothers. Child development. 2003;74(5):1433–53. MEDLINE: 900;: CN–00458200. - PubMed
    1. Bergan JR, Neumann AJ, Karp CL. Effects of parent training on parent instruction and child learning of intellectual skills. Journal of School Psychology. 1983;21(1):31–9.

Additional references

    1. Martins C, Gaffan EA. Effects of early maternal depression on patterns of infant-mother attachment: A meta-analytic investigation. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. 2000;20(10):1019–40. - PubMed
    1. Barlow J, Coren E. Parent-training programmes for improving maternal psychosocial health. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2001;(2) DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD002020.pub2. - PubMed
    1. Barlow J, Stewart-Brown S. Why a universal population-level approach to the prevention of child abuse is essential. Child Abuse Review. 2003;12(5):279–81.
    1. Barrett H. Attachment and the perils of parenting: a commentary and a critique. NFPI; London: 2006.
    1. Baydar N. Email correspondence clarifying the age of the trial participants. Personal communication. 2008 May 5;

References to other published versions of this review

    1. Barlow J, Parsons J. Group-based parent-training programmes for improving emotional and behavioural adjustment in 0-3 year old children. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2003;(2) DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD003680. - PubMed
    1. Barlow J, Parsons J. Group-based parent-training programmes for improving emotional and behavioural adjustment in 0-3 year old children (update) Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2003;(2) DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD003680. - PubMed

    1. * Indicates the major publication for the study