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Over 2 million individuals are incarcerated in the US criminal justice system. More than half of incarcerated Americans are also parents of minors. Parental incarceration can lead to a higher risk of mental illness and enduring trauma in children, as well as other problematic cognitive, developmental, and educational outcomes. Examining parental incarceration through a racial equity lens is critical, as people of color make up 67% of the incarcerated population despite making up only 37% of the US population. Further, gender-related equity issues pose important challenges for families with incarcerated parents. Here, we discuss prison-based psychosocial interventions designed both to build parenting skills and to improve parent well-being within a racial and gender equity lens. We hypothesize that effective services in these areas are essential components in a broad strategy designed to mitigate the potential negative effects suffered by families and children of incarcerated parents of color as a result of their imprisonment.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate and compare the effectiveness of two intervention formats of the Positive Parenting Programme (Triple P) – Level 4 Group Triple P (TP) and brief parent discussion group (DI) with the waitlist control group (WL).

Participants included 91 Chinese parents with preschool children in Hong Kong from eight preschools, who were randomised into the two intervention conditions (TP and DI) and a waitlist control group (WL). Parent participants completed measures on child behaviours and parenting stress before and after intervention.

Results indicated that there was a significant decrease in post-intervention child behavioural problems in the TP group, with a medium effect size when compared to the WL group. There was a decrease in post-intervention child behaviour problems in the DI group, compared with the WL group. No significant difference was found in post-intervention child behaviour problems between the TP group and the DI group.

The positive results in the present study support the extension of the implementation of Triple P interventions to the preschool setting in Hong Kong. The effectiveness of the brief parent discussion group in reducing parental report of child behaviour problems provides preliminary support for its potential as a universal preventive parenting intervention in the local context.

The study was the first evaluation of the Level-4 Triple P programme in a local school context as well as the first evaluation of effectiveness of the brief parent discussion group in the local context at the time of the study.

Despite the importance of increasing engagement and minimising attrition and drop‐out in parenting interventions, there is a paucity of empirical evidence examining factors related to engagement and participation. The range of factors examined in relation to engagement is generally limited in scope and variety, focusing on variables of convenience rather than utilising a theoretically‐driven approach.The aim of this article is to review the factors related to parental engagement with interventions and to describe strategies and implications for improving engagement with parenting interventions. Several policy and practice implications are identified: (1) Poor parental engagement may threaten or compromise the capacity of parenting programmes to deliver valued outcomes. Viable engagement strategies need to be a core part of prevention and early intervention parenting programmes; (2) Agencies delivering parenting services need a proactive engagement strategy, which includes strategies to prevent drop‐out, as well as strategies to actively respond to parental disengagement; (3) Research is needed to test the efficacy and robustness of different engagement enhancement strategies. Empirical tests are needed to test the effectiveness of different engagement strategies in order to ensure that the most efficient, cost‐effective and efficacious approach is used in order to engage parents. Investment of research effort to improve parental engagement is likely to have a high yield in terms of programme efficiency, utility and cost effectiveness. We conclude that research examining how to improve engagement and decrease non‐completion is needed to strengthen the population level value of parenting programmes as preventive interventions.

This study examined the effectiveness of the Triple P‐Positive Parenting Program in a government child health service delivery context with Chinese parents in Hong Kong. Specifically, the study sought to identify pre‐intervention variables that might predict programme outcomes such as level of clinical improvement and programme completion. Participants were 661 parents of pre‐school and primary aged children participating in a group version of the Triple P‐Positive Parenting Program. There were significant decreases in disruptive child behaviours, levels of parenting stress, general stress and anxiety and an increase in parenting sense of competence. Greater change in reports of child behaviour problems was related to lower levels of family income, new immigrant family status, and higher pre‐intervention levels of parenting stress. The present study provides a profile of parents who are most likely to benefit from parent training programmes.

The present study examined the role of socio‐demographic and family risk factors as mediators or moderators of the success of parents undertaking a universal group parent training programme for young children. The results showed that parents' capacity to change dysfunctional parenting practices was not moderated by the child's gender, family income, family type, or pre‐intervention level of parental stress, but was partially mediated by changes in parental satisfaction and efficacy. Irrespective of their socio‐demographic background, parents who completed the Triple‐P Positive Parenting Programme were equally likely to succeed in changing their parenting practices. These findings suggest the robustness of intervention effects across a diverse range of parents.

The aim of this article is to summarise the available evidence from systematic reviews about the effectiveness of interventions to prevent or treat child physical abuse and neglect. A computerised search was undertaken of major electronic databases up to December 2005 using key search terms. Only systematic reviews were included in which the primary studies evaluated the effectiveness of targeted or indicated interventions for child physical abuse or neglect. A total of 31 systematic reviews were identified and 15 met all the inclusion criteria. They covered a range of interventions/services, including home visiting, parenting programmes, multi‐component interventions, intensive family preservation services, family‐focused casework and multi‐systemic family therapy. There was limited evidence of the effectiveness of services in improving objective measures of abuse and neglect, due in part to methodological issues involved in their measurement, but good evidence of modest benefits in improving a range of outcomes that are associated with physical abuse and neglect, including parental and family functioning and child development. The results also showed some interventions (eg. media‐based and perinatal coaching) to be ineffective with high‐risk families. The evidence provided by these reviews has clear implications for children's services in the UK and other western developed countries.

This study examined the impact of a brief seminar series on positive parenting (Selected Triple P) on behavioural and emotional problems in pre‐adolescent children and on inter‐parental conflict, parenting style, relationship quality, parental adjustment and parental confidence. Two hundred and forty‐four parents with children aged four to seven years were assigned to one of three conditions: (a) partial exposure condition involving attendance at a single introductory seminar; (b) full exposure (attendance at all three seminars); or (c) a waitlist control group. Analyses were completed for the 109 participants for whom full data were obtained. There was a significant reduction in parental reports of problem child behaviour and dysfunctional parenting styles with the introductory seminar alone. However, exposure to all three seminars was associated with significant improvements in all dysfunctional parenting styles and in the level of inter‐parental conflict. There were no significant differences between conditions at post‐intervention on parental reports of depression, anxiety, stress, relationship quality or parental confidence. This study provides preliminary support for the efficacy of a brief universal parenting intervention in improving child behaviour and parenting variables associated with the development and maintenance of child conduct problems. The findings also offer preliminary support for the notion that positive outcomes for both parents and children can be achieved through the delivery of brief preventive parenting interventions that require minimal time commitments from parents.

The purpose of this research is to test a comprehensive nutrition program developed specifically to target low‐income parents of young school‐aged children and determine whether the programme‐resulted in changes in parents' knowledge, attitude, self‐confidence, and behaviours related to both their and their child's nutrition in relation to fruit and vegetable intake.

This study used a quasi‐experimental pre‐test/post‐test design in which parent centers were selected to participate as either intervention or control sites. The primary method of data collection was self‐administered questionnaires.

The results show significant positive changes in parent knowledge, food behaviors, and home environment. No changes were observed in parents' attitudes; however, parent attitudes were high at baseline.

This work reinforces the importance of developing well designed interventions that specifically target the intended audience and intended outcomes.

This is one of the few studies that have examined the potential and value of nutrition‐focused intervention targeting low‐income and predominantly Hispanic populations with the potential goal of impacting children.

Behavioural parent training (PT) interventions partially mediate risk factors for the development of child behavioural problems. Mindfulness skills could have benefit in alleviating the impact of these risk factors for parents who are socio-economically disadvantaged. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

A pre-post single group comparison of disadvantaged mothers attending the Mindfulness-Based Wellbeing for Parents (MBW-P) programme.

Changes were observed in facets of parental stress (Parenting Stress Index-Short Form; Abidin, 1995), depression (Beck Depression Inventory-II; Beck et al., 1996) and brooding (Ruminative Responses Scale; Nolen-Hoeksema and Morrow, 1991), with moderate to large effect sizes and incidences of clinical change.

The research design, although pragmatic, includes a small sample and no control or long-term comparison group.

Mothers considered as the “hardest to reach” group in terms of vulnerability, risk factors and being likely to gain from intervention demonstrated positive shifts post-intervention. A targeted mindfulness-based intervention, delivered pragmatically within a health service context, may have benefit in reducing the impact of risk factors on parental wellbeing.

To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first evaluation of a targeted mindfulness group delivered within routine health care settings, in identified “high risk” areas, by routine staff.

The developmental, individual-difference and relationship (DIR)/Floortime^® approach is a commonly used parent-implemented intervention with children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Currently, no evidence is available about the intervention’s implementation and utility in Malaysia. The aim of this paper is to investigate the applicability and impact of implementing the parent-implemented home-based DIR/Floortime^® intervention program for children with ASD and their parents in a Malaysian context from parents’ perspectives.

A qualitative study using semi-structured interviews with eight mothers and four fathers of children with ASD was conducted. The interviews were analysed using qualitative content analysis.

Five themes were developed. Theme 1 described the implementation of DIR/Floortime^® intervention; Theme 2 reported challenges parents faced when implementing the intervention; Theme 3 explored parents’ perspective on play; Theme 4 explained the improvements and changes in children with ASD and parents’ abilities and skills; and Theme 5 reported parents’ comments and suggestions about the intervention program.

Involvement of a limited number of participants and an absence of baseline data limits the interpretation of the impacts of the DIR/Floortime^® program’s implementation by parents with their children with ASD.

Utilization of DIR/Floortime^® intervention is practical and appropriate in the Malaysian context. From the parents’ perspective, the DIR/Floortime^® approach was beneficial for children with ASD and parents’ skill development and well-being. Further refinement to the program and involvement of participants from various cultural backgrounds are recommended. A greater emphasis for parents on child-led interaction style and play with children are also recommended.