Understanding the role of parental attributions in parenting interventions

Abstract

Parental attributions about child behaviour have been proposed as an important correlate of parental reactions, in particular to harsh parenting. The reduction of negative attributions, therefore, has the potential to reduce dysfunctional or hostile parenting practices and is important to examine. However, there is limited empirical research exploring the malleability of parenting attributions. This thesis aims to explore the impact of parenting attributions on parenting, and the extent to which negative attributions are reduced by parenting interventions. Complementary to the need to examine the impact of a parenting intervention in parental attributions, few evidence-based interventions have been evaluated in developing countries, therefore the second focus of the thesis is to evaluate the efficacy and cultural acceptability of the Group Triple PmPositive Parenting Program in Brazil.This thesis consists of six chapters comprising four manuscripts as well as an introduction chapter and a discussion chapter which synthesize the contributions of the body of research as a whole. Chapter 1 provides a general introduction for the thesis by summarizing the key topics related to the body of work. It reviews the relevant literature about parental attribution theory and outlines extant literature regarding what is known about parental attributions and how they are related to child behaviour, parenting behaviour and parenting interventions.Chapter 2 presents an empirical paper that used a cross-sectional sample of Brazilian parents to test a) a hypothesised model whereby parental attributions mediate the relationship between child behaviour and parenting behaviour and b) whether parental attributions predict harsh or hostile parenting. Both hypotheses were fully supported. Results indicated that parental attributions mediate the relationship between child behaviour and parenting behaviour and that parental attributions predict hostile patenting behaviour. Given that negative parental attributions predict parenting behaviour, there is a clear need to investigate if these can be changed.Chapter 3 presents a manuscript of a systematic review aiming to identify if parenting interventions are able to change parental attributions. A small number of articles met specified inclusion criteria, revealing the scarcity of parenting intervention research in this area. Results from the review were inconsistent with some studies suggested that parenting programs have the potential to improve parental attributions, whereas other studies found they had no effect on parental attributions. This review highlights the need for further well-designed trials examining this topic.Building on the research gap identified in the systematic review presented in Chapter 3, Chapter 4 presents the manuscript of a Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) that aimed to a) identify if a generalist parenting program (Group Triple P) is efficacious at reducing negative parenting attributions and b) evaluate the efficacy of Group Triple P in a Brazilian context. Results indicated that Group Triple P resulted in significant decreases in dysfunctional parental attributions, as well as in negative parenting styles, parental maladjustment and child behavioural problems. This study is one of the few case examples of a RCT of a parenting intervention Brazil.Chapter 5 builds on the RCT of Group Triple P in Brazil by presenting a qualitative paper examining the cultural acceptability and relevance of Group Triple P in a Latin American context. Written data were collected from parents who completed Group Triple P regarding assessing their thoughts about the program, as well as any recommended improvement. A thematic analysis of parent responses revealed that overall parents viewed Group Triple P as culturally appropriate, however some recommendation from improvements were also made.Finally, Chapter 6 integrates the research findings of all four studies and presents the contributions of the thesis as a whole to the broader literature. This chapter summarises the implications of findings for theory, research, and policy and practice. A summary of the strengths and limitations of the body of work are discussed, along with suggestions for future studies. Overall, these studies contribute to a better knowledge of parental attributions and their relevance in the context of parenting interventions.This thesis offers new contributions to the literature in a number of ways. First, it builds on attribution theory confirming that parental attributions not only predict parenting behaviour but also that attributions mediate the relationship between child behaviour and parenting. Secondly, it adds to emerging evidence showing that parenting programs can reduce negative parenting attributions. These results highlight the importance of addressing negative parental attributions and provide evidence to support the use of parenting interventions to modify negative parental attributions, suggesting that tailored interventions that included extra components targeting attribution retraining may not be needed. Finally, the findings demonstrate that Group Triple P is efficacious in reducing negative parenting styles, parental maladjustment and child behavioural problems in Brazil. These findings have wider implications for prevention efforts among the Brazilian population, given the high rates of child behavioural problems and dysfunctional parenting across Latin America.