A Brief Parenting Intervention to Enhance the Parent–Child Relationship in Hong Kong: Harmony@Home

Cecilia S. Fabrizio,Tai Hing Lam,Malia R. Hirschmann,Sunita M. Stewart

doi:10.1007/s10826-012-9614-0

Abstract

There is a dearth of high-level evidence for brief programs designed to promote positive parent–child relationships in nonwestern cultures. We present a pilot randomized controlled trial of a four-session intervention to enhance the parenting skills that promote a positive relationship with pre-adolescent children in Hong Kong. Our intervention, Harmony@Home, utilized Cunningham’s culturally appropriate coping modeling, problem-solving approach to change parental behavior. Our objective was to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability and initial evidence of benefit of the intervention. We blindly randomized 150 Hong Kong parents of children 10–13 years of age to (a) a Harmony@Home intervention group, (b) a waitlist control group, or (c) a third active intervention which shared the control group. Immediately following the intervention, we report increases in satisfaction with the parent–child relationship, one of the targeted parenting behaviors and family harmony, for the Harmony@Home group versus control group. However, only the results from satisfaction with the parent–child relationship were significant at 3-months post intervention. Most respondents reported high levels of program satisfaction. The results provide preliminary evidence that this parenting intervention is culturally acceptable for a nonwestern general population, is feasible for implementation in a community setting and shows evidence of benefit. This intervention is concordant with public health priorities because of the global importance of the parent–child relationship as a protective factor for adolescent outcomes, the need for culturally-appropriate interventions for nonwestern populations, and design characteristics that promote dissemination.

Highlights

We describe a pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) of an intervention to enhance parent–child relationships in Hong Kong Chinese families, as a modifiable protective factor for adolescents’ behavioral and academic outcomes
We present a pilot randomized controlled trial of a four-session intervention to enhance the parenting skills that promote a positive relationship with preadolescent children in Hong Kong
Eighty-four percent of all study participants were married; 59 % worked outside the home, at least part-time; and 74.1 % lived in households earning less than the median annual household income (AHI) for Hong Kong residents

Summary

Introduction

We describe a pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) of an intervention to enhance parent–child relationships in Hong Kong Chinese families, as a modifiable protective factor for adolescents’ behavioral and academic outcomes. We believe this topic has important social and public health implications internationally for several reasons. Academic-community partnerships are increasingly important to achieving sustainable change, in cultures where community practitioners are not trained in evidence-based approaches, and yet community agencies can offer access to a ‘‘healthy’’ population for preventive interventions. In applying the concept of the parent–child relationship as a modifiable protective factor to a general population, this study is at the interface of public health and psychology (Lim et al 2005; Spijkers et al 2010; Spoth et al 1998)

Objectives

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Discussion

Conclusion