Promoting Parenting Practices and Child Behaviour with an Evidence-Based Program: A Survey and Triple P-Positive Parenting Program Trials with Indonesian Parents

Abstract

Parenting programs have been found to be effective in improving child behaviour, parenting practices, and parental adjustment. However, dissemination of these evidence-based parenting programs is mostly conducted in western countries and only a few studies have reported the evaluation of evidence-based parenting programs in diverse cultural contexts. As a developing country in South-East Asia that has the fourth largest population in the world, Indonesia currently disseminates no evidence-based parenting program. Furthermore, the rate of child abuse cases in Indonesia has grown and there are socio-economic changes that potentially influence parenting practices and family relationships of Indonesians, particularly those living in urban areas. Chapter 1 of this thesis describes in detail the situations and conditions in Indonesia. Prior to the evaluation of a new program, it is important to investigate current Indonesian parenting practices and parental needs for parenting programs, including parents’ preferred features and delivery formats of a program, as to date there are only limited studies that describe these issues. Chapter 2 presents the rationale and results of a parenting survey with 273 Indonesian parents of children aged 2-12 years old residing in Indonesia and Australia. It was found that there were low levels of parenting risk factors and child emotional and behavioural problems within the sample. However, many parents used ineffective discipline strategies with their child (e.g., shouting). Parents also indicated that they were not familiar with existing parenting programs but were interested in participating in a parenting program if one were available in the future, and preferred to have a light touch intervention, such as a parenting seminar. This illustrates the need for a brief evidence-based parenting program among an Indonesian population. Chapter 3 provides an overview of the Triple P-Positive Parenting Program, an evidence-based parenting program that aims to enhance parenting knowledge, skills, and confidence in order to prevent child emotional and behavioural problems. The Triple P Seminar Series is a brief Triple P intervention that provides general parenting information to parents who are interested in learning more about parenting or have only a minor concern about their child’s behaviour. A prior evaluation with Australian parents showed that the program was effective in reducing child behaviour problems and dysfunctional parenting practices. Nonetheless, there has been no study that evaluated the Triple P Seminar Series with parents from developing countries, particularly Indonesia. To follow up the results of the parenting survey described in chapter 2 and to fill the research gap outlined in chapter 3, a pilot trial of the Triple P Seminar Series was conducted with 30 Indonesian parents residing in Australia. Chapter 4 reports the results of the pilot trial that examined the cultural acceptability of the Triple P Seminar Series with Indonesian parents. Only one of the three Triple P seminars was delivered to parents. Minor changes were made in the language used (e.g., delivered in Indonesian), graphic materials (e.g., inserting pictures of Indonesian children and families), and case examples (e.g., using culturally relevant examples). The findings indicated that parents rated the seminar content as highly acceptable and culturally appropriate. Additionally, parents reported fewer child emotional and behavioural problems after attending the seminar with the effect maintained at 3-month follow up. However, the study had limitations with respect to the methodological design (i.e., no control group) and sample size, and therefore, a randomised-controlled trial with a larger number of participants was suggested for the subsequent study. Chapter 5 presents an evaluation of the Triple P Seminar Series with parents residing in Indonesia. In this randomised-controlled trial, 143 Indonesian parents were allocated in one of the two groups, intervention or wait-list. Parents in the intervention group received three 90-minute parenting seminars. The results indicated significant reductions in child behaviour problems, dysfunctional parenting practices, and parental stress, and a significant increase in parenting confidence for parents in the intervention group. Parents also reported high levels of acceptability and satisfaction with the program. This extends the finding of the effectiveness and usefulness of the Triple P Seminar Series to Indonesian parents. Finally, chapter 6 emphasises the importance of taking a staged approach (e.g., conducting a parenting survey, a pilot trial and an efficacy trial) prior to a dissemination of evidence-based parenting programs in a new country. Limitations of the thesis in regard to the measures used and parent sample recruited are discussed along with suggestions for future research and practical implications. Overall, this thesis shows that an evidence-based parenting program, in particular the Triple P Seminar Series, is a promising program that may have a positive impact on the welfare of Indonesian children and families with further dissemination.