'Living with Teenagers': feasibility study of a peer-led parenting intervention for socially disadvantaged families with adolescent children

Daniel Michelson; Ilan Ben-Zion; Alana I James; Lucy Draper; Caroline Penney; Crispin Day

doi:10.1136/archdischild-2013-304936

'Living with Teenagers': feasibility study of a peer-led parenting intervention for socially disadvantaged families with adolescent children

Arch Dis Child. 2014 Aug;99(8):731-7. doi: 10.1136/archdischild-2013-304936. Epub 2014 Apr 23.

Authors

Daniel Michelson¹, Ilan Ben-Zion¹, Alana I James², Lucy Draper³, Caroline Penney³, Crispin Day⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, UK.
² Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, London, UK.
³ Centre for Parent and Child Support, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
⁴ Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, UK Centre for Parent and Child Support, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.

PMID: 24759649
DOI: 10.1136/archdischild-2013-304936

Abstract

Objective: To develop and test the feasibility of a peer-led parenting intervention for parents of adolescent children.

Design: Formative evaluation using a mixed-method cohort design.

Setting: Socially deprived community sites in London, UK.

Participants: Parents seeking help with managing behavioural difficulties of an index adolescent child (aged 11-17 years).

Intervention: A structured, group-based intervention ('Living with Teenagers') delivered by trained peer facilitators.

Main outcome measures: We assessed feasibility in terms of uptake and completion rates (% parents completing ≥5 sessions); social validity (assessed by service satisfaction measure and participant interviews); and potential for impact (assessed by parent-reported measures of adolescent behaviour and mental health, parenting satisfaction, expressed emotion, and disciplinary practices).

Results: Participants (n=41) were predominately (79%) from minority ethnic backgrounds and nearly half were lone parents. Most had not previously accessed a structured parenting programme. The completion rate was 71%. Significant changes (p<0.05) were observed in reduced parental concern about adolescent problems, increased parenting satisfaction and less negative expressed emotion. There were non-significant changes in disciplinary practices and adolescent mental health. Participants were highly satisfied with their service experience and endorsed the acceptability of the intervention's content, materials and peer-led format, while suggesting an expanded number of sessions and more skills practice and demonstrations.

Conclusions: Peer-led parenting groups are feasible and potentially effective for supporting parents of adolescents living in socially disadvantaged communities. These findings warrant more rigorous testing under controlled conditions.

Keywords: Adolescent Health; Child Psychiatry; Child Psychology; Comm Child Health; Health services research.

Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Adolescent Behavior / psychology*
Child
Child Behavior Disorders / psychology*
Cohort Studies
Feasibility Studies
Humans
Parent-Child Relations*
Parenting / psychology*
Parents / psychology*
Peer Group*
Psychosocial Deprivation
United Kingdom