Abstract:
Following the COVID-19 pandemic, children experienced heightened levels of mental health challenges e.g., anxiety and school refusal. This posed challenges to not only families, but also to schools. Given the widespread nature of the challenges, an integrated public health model of intervention was required to address the problems and to safeguard the mental health and wellbeing of children. The Thriving Kids and Parents seminar series is a low-intensity, prevention-focused program that is based on the Triple P system of programs. This study is the first large-scale, multi-site randomised controlled trial of a newly developed Triple P seminar series tailored for the schools.
The evaluation employed an Incomplete Batched Stepped Wedge Cluster Randomised Trial Design, involving 380 Australian primary schools. The seminar series included three seminars: “The Power of Positive Parenting”, “Helping Your Child to Manage Anxiety”, and “Keeping your Child Safe from Bullying”. Over 900 parents completed measures about a wide range of child and family outcomes at baseline, post-intervention, and follow-up. Data were analysed using a latent growth curve modeling approach.
Significant intervention effects were identified across a wide range of child and family outcomes such as child social, emotional, and behavioral adjustment, depression, anxiety, parental self-regulation, and parenting practices with small to medium effect sizes. Parents also reported high levels of satisfaction with the seminar series. Systematic replication of intervention effects was achieved in all outcomes.
The findings from this project will extend the current knowledge of the effectiveness of brief, low intensity, universally offered, prevention-focused, evidence-based
The evaluation employed an Incomplete Batched Stepped Wedge Cluster Randomised Trial Design, involving 380 Australian primary schools. The seminar series included three seminars: “The Power of Positive Parenting”, “Helping Your Child to Manage Anxiety”, and “Keeping your Child Safe from Bullying”. Over 900 parents completed measures about a wide range of child and family outcomes at baseline, post-intervention, and follow-up. Data were analysed using a latent growth curve modeling approach.
Significant intervention effects were identified across a wide range of child and family outcomes such as child social, emotional, and behavioral adjustment, depression, anxiety, parental self-regulation, and parenting practices with small to medium effect sizes. Parents also reported high levels of satisfaction with the seminar series. Systematic replication of intervention effects was achieved in all outcomes.
The findings from this project will extend the current knowledge of the effectiveness of brief, low intensity, universally offered, prevention-focused, evidence-based