Korean families of a child with a disability: Parenting programme preferences and effectiveness of the Stepping Stones Triple P Program

Abstract

Children with a developmental disability (DD) often show a range of emotional and behavioural problems, which can be stressful and challenging for parents to manage. The evidence-based parenting programme, Stepping Stones Triple P, has demonstrated effectiveness for reducing child behaviour problems, parental stress, and improving parenting practices. However, no research has investigated the parenting support needs and the effectiveness of Stepping Stones Triple P with Korean parents. This thesis addressed these gaps with two separate studies. Study one surveyed 171 Korean families with a 2 to 10-year-old child with a DD. Parents completed questionnaires about their child’s behaviour patterns, their parenting practices, parenting confidence, parental adjustment, family relationships, and parental teamwork. Questions about parenting programme preferences were also asked, including preferred programme features and delivery preferences, and barriers to participation. Findings revealed that one-third of children had behavioural and emotional problems in the clinical range. Parents of a child with high levels of problems were more likely to use dysfunctional parenting practices, and have higher levels of parental stress, family relationship and parental teamwork problems, and lower levels of parental confidence. Parents’ preferred delivery options included individually tailored programmes, home visits, group programmes, and seminar programmes. Having trained practitioners, an evidence-based programme, and a convenient location were essential factors in a decision to attend a programme. Study 2 consisted of a randomised controlled trial of the SSTP seminar series for Korean parents of a child with a DD aged between 2-10 years. Thirty-eight parents were assigned to an intervention or a delayed intervention group. Parent report data on child adjustment problems, parenting practices, parental adjustment, parental teamwork, and family relationships was collected at pre-, post-intervention, and 4-month follow-up. Significant short-term intervention effects were found for reductions in child behaviour difficulties, dysfunctional parenting practices, and inter-parental conflicts. Although not significant, there was a small effect size for improvements in family relationships and parental self-efficacy. Intervention effects for inter-parental conflicts were maintained at 4-month follow-up. Programme acceptability and satisfaction were examined at post-intervention, and high levels of satisfaction were reported. Post-intervention interviews with 12 parents revealed additional benefits of programme participation. These included increased parenting knowledge, positive changes in attitudes and behaviour towards their child, more independent child behaviour, and increased child expression of positive feelings. The findings from study one could be used to inform the content and delivery of parenting programmes for Korean parents of a child with a DD. Study 2 was the first RCT to examine the effectiveness of the SSTP seminar series with Korean parents of a child with a DD. Findings contribute to the evidence base for the effectiveness of the SSTP series.