Effectiveness of a Parental Training Programme to Enhance Parent-child Relationship and Reduce Harsh Parenting Practices and Parental Stress in the Preparation of Children for Transition to Primary School

Parent Clinical Trial

Official title:

Effectiveness of a Parental Training Programme to Enhance Parent-child Relationship and Reduce Harsh Parenting Practices and Parental Stress in the Preparation of Children for Transition to Primary School: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT01845948
• Other study ID #: ND789
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• First received: April 25, 2013
• Last updated: April 30, 2013
• Start date: March 2009
• Est. completion date: December 2009

Study information

• Verified date: April 2013
• Source: The University of Hong Kong
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Health authority: Hong Kong: Ethics Committee
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

This study tested the effectiveness of a parental training programme to enhance parent-child relationship and reduce harsh parenting practices and parental stress in the preparation of children for transition to primary school. A randomized controlled trial was employed and 142 parents were recruited. Parents in the experimental group engaged in less harsh parenting practices and reported better parent-child relationships than parents in the control group. Findings from this study provide empirical evidence of the effectiveness of the parental training programme and highlight the significance of parental involvement in promoting a smooth transition for children from kindergarten to primary one.

Description:

Introduction Transition creates a time of vulnerability for the child, the parents and their relationship. Failure to adjust to the transition, on the part of either parents or children, might place the family in a psychological devastating position. There is an imperative need to develop and evaluate appropriate interventions for parents so that they can contribute to helping their children enjoy a smooth passage to a pleasurable learning life in primary school.

Aim The aims of this study were to test the effectiveness of a parental training programme to enhance parent-child relationship and reduce harsh parenting practices and parental stress in the preparation of children for transition to primary school.

Methods A randomized controlled trial, two-group pre-test and repeated post-test, between-subjects design was employed. The method of simple complete randomization was adopted. Recruitment and data collection were conducted during the summer in 2009. Participants were recruited through referrals from the Hong Kong Sheung Kung Hui Welfare Council in Tung Chung. Written consent was obtained from parents after they were told the purposes of the study and agreed to participate. Parents were told that they were under no obligation to participate, could withdraw from the study with impunity at any time and were assured of the confidentiality of the data to be collected.

After they had signed consent forms, a research assistant collected demographic and baseline data from parents. Data collection was divided into three phases: at the time of recruitment (pre-intervention), at six weeks and three months after the intervention. Parents were asked to respond to the Chinese version of the parental acceptance-rejection scale, parental stress scale, and self-report scale on parent-child relationship in respect of the transition from kindergarten to primary school.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 142
• Est. completion date: December 2009
• Est. primary completion date: September 2009
• Accepts healthy volunteers: No
• Gender: Both
• Age group: N/A and older

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• must be able to read and write Chinese

• must have had primary school education or above

Exclusion Criteria:

• with identified cognitive and learning problems were excluded, as also were children with such problems

Study Design

Allocation: Randomized, Endpoint Classification: Efficacy Study, Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment, Masking: Single Blind (Outcomes Assessor), Primary Purpose: Supportive Care

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Parent

Intervention

Behavioral:
• parental training programme
In the experimental group, parents participated in the parental training programme approximately one month before the start of the academic year in primary school. Two social workers, who have minimum five- year experience in giving family counselling,implemented the interventions.
• Placebo Control
Parents had no intervention except that an information leaflet for parents on helping children to adapt the new primary school life published by Education Bureau was given to each parent in the control group at the end of data collection.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
China	Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Tung Chung Integrated Services	Hong Kong

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
The University of Hong Kong

Country where clinical trial is conducted

China, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Change of Self-reported Parent-Child Relationship at 6 weeks from baseline	The parent-child relationship of the participants was measured by using a self-reporting method consisting of two items, with one asking 'How satisfied are you with the parent-child relationship?" and the other 'As a parent, how satisfied are you with yourself?'	6 weeks	No
Secondary	Self-reported Parent-Child Relationship at baseline	The parent-child relationship of the participants was measured by using a self-reporting method consisting of two items, with one asking 'How satisfied are you with the parent-child relationship?" and the other 'As a parent, how satisfied are you with yourself?'	baseline, 0 week ( just before the start of intervention)	No
Secondary	Change of Self-reported Parent-Child Relationship at 3 months from baseline	The parent-child relationship of the participants was measured by using a self-reporting method consisting of two items, with one asking 'How satisfied are you with the parent-child relationship?" and the other 'As a parent, how satisfied are you with yourself?'	3 months	No
Secondary	Perceived Parental Aggression Scale at baseline	It measures harsh parenting, i.e. physical or verbal aggression towards children	baseline, 0 week ( just before the start of intervention)	No
Secondary	change of Perceived Parental Aggression Scale at 6 weeks from baseline	It measures harsh parenting, i.e. physical or verbal aggression towards children	6 weeks	No
Secondary	change of Perceived Parental Aggression Scale at 3 months from baseline	It measures harsh parenting, i.e. physical or verbal aggression towards children	3 months	No
Secondary	Parental Stress at baseline	we assess a parent's subjective feelings of strain, difficulty and dissatisfaction in reaction to stressors in the parent-child relationship	baseline, 0 week ( just before the start of intervention)	No
Secondary	change of Parental Stress at baseline at 6 weeks from baseline	we assess a parent's subjective feelings of strain, difficulty and dissatisfaction in reaction to stressors in the parent-child relationship	6 weeks	No
Secondary	change of Parental Stress at baseline at 3 months from baseline	we assess a parent's subjective feelings of strain, difficulty and dissatisfaction in reaction to stressors in the parent-child relationship	3 months	No