A randomized controlled trial of a mother-infant or toddler parenting program: demonstrating effectiveness in practice.
OBJECTIVE
Describes outcomes of an intervention aimed to improve infant or toddler care and reduce parental distress.


METHODS
A randomized controlled trial method was used with 118 mothers. Participants were allocated to an intervention group (n = 65) or an enhanced waitlist group (n = 53). Measures were taken at pre-, post-, and 6-weeks follow-up.


RESULTS
Results demonstrated that mothers who attended the program reported improvement in depression, anxiety, stress, parental satisfaction, and decreases in problematic child behavior. Improvements were maintained at the 6-week follow up. Intention-to-treat analysis replicated the results, although with smaller effect sizes.


CONCLUSIONS
The results of this study demonstrate that delivery of a 1 day intervention for distressed mothers can contribute to lower levels of parental distress and child problem behavior. Given the importance of early mother-child relationships and the limited number of well-controlled studies on brief interventions this result is of significance to researchers and the service community.
Hayes
Louise
L
Department of Behavioral, Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Ballarat, Mount Helen, Victoria 3353, Australia. l.hayes@ballarat.edu.au
Matthews
Jan
J
Copley
Alison
A
Welsh
Debra
D
D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D001521:Behavior Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003258:Consumer Behavior; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D004493:Education / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007224:Infant Care; D008297:Male; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009035:Mothers / Q000193:education* / Q000523:psychology; D010348:Patient Care Team; D010555:Personality Inventory; D016896:Treatment Outcome