Parents' perceptions of changes in family functioning after participation in a strengthening families intervention: A qualitative analysis

Abstract

This paper reports a qualitative study of parents' experiences of participating in an Australian adapted trial of the Strengthening Families Program (SFP). The SFP is an internationally recognised family-based prevention intervention found to be effective in improving child mental health. The study explored parents' perceptions of how the Australian adapted program influenced parent, child and family functioning. A purposive sample of 15 parents who had taken part in the program in 2015 were interviewed, and thematic analysis was undertaken using a general inductive approach. Parents reported benefits experienced through the program based around eight major themes: (1) the anger diminished; (2) making a connection; (3) a shift towards positive dialogue within the family; (4) greater understanding of parenting and the child; (5) “the clouds lifted a little bit”; (6) engagement in school; (7) my child's behaviour improved; and (8) coping and resilience. Themes relating to parent-child connectedness and communication appeared central to improved child behaviour and family functioning. Collectively, the findings are promising, and themes encapsulated familial factors found to be protective of child psychosocial health.