Hickey, Grainne and McGilloway, Sinéad and Leckey, Yvonne and Leavy, Shane and Stokes, Ann and O'Connor, Siobhan and Donnelly, Michael and Bywater, Tracey (2020) Exploring the potential utility and impact of a universal, multi-component early parenting intervention through a community-based, controlled trial. Children and Youth Services Review, 118 (105458). ISSN 0190-7409

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Abstract

Background: This paper describes the first phase of a community-based, controlled trial conducted to investigate the potential utility of a new, complex group-based early parenting intervention. In total, 106 parent-infant dyads were recruited to an interagency Parent and Infant (PIN) intervention which combines a range of supports, including the Incredible Years Parent and Baby Programme, baby massage, weaning workshops and paediatric first aid training. A ‘services-as-usual’ comparison group was also recruited (n = 84). Methods: The primary outcome was parenting self-efficacy (Parenting Sense of Competence Scale). Parent well-being, child development and the home environment were also measured. Assessments were conducted at baseline (when infants were 6–20 weeks old) and at follow-up (when infants were aged approximately 8 months). Parent satisfaction with the intervention was examined, as well as uptake of community-based services and health service utilisation. Results: An intention-to-treat analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) examined between-group post-intervention differences, whilst secondary analyses on a ‘per protocol’ sample of participants (who attended at least 50% of the intervention sessions) were also conducted. Satisfaction with the PIN intervention was very high. The intention-to-treat ANCOVA showed no post-intervention between-group differences on measures of parent competency or well-being. At baseline, children in the comparison group were older than those in the intervention group and, at follow-up, fared better than their intervention group counterparts on measures of child development. The per protocol analysis revealed a significant effect for the intervention group on the efficacy subscale of the primary outcome measure (effect size = 0.44, p < 0.05). Intervention group infants attended GP and nursing services on significantly fewer occasions than their comparison group counterparts. Conclusion: The findings provide tentative early support for the utility of the PIN intervention in terms of improving parenting efficacy and reducing reliance on primary health care services. Further follow-ups when infants are 16 and 24 months old are underway.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	© 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/BY/4.0/). Cite as: Grainne Hickey, Sinead McGilloway, Yvonne Leckey, Shane Leavy, Ann Stokes, Siobhan O'Connor, Michael Donnelly, Tracey Bywater, Exploring the potential utility and impact of a universal, multi-component early parenting intervention through a community-based, controlled trial, Children and Youth Services Review, Volume 118, 2020, 105458, ISSN 0190-7409, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105458. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740920304382)
Keywords:	Prevention; Early parenting intervention; Universal parent support; Group-based parent training; Parenting; Child development;
Academic Unit:	Assisting Living & Learning,ALL institute Faculty of Science and Engineering > Psychology Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Institutes > Maynooth University Social Sciences Institute, MUSSI
Item ID:	15042
Identification Number:	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105458
Depositing User:	Dr. Sinéad McGilloway
Date Deposited:	18 Nov 2021 17:46
Journal or Publication Title:	Children and Youth Services Review
Publisher:	Elsevier
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	Publisher
Use Licence:	This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

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