Whilst behavioural difficulties in childhood can have a lasting impact, parenting programmes have been shown to make a real difference in families’ lives. This study is looking at personalised approaches to the treatment of behavioural difficulties in children. In this project we will work with parents to develop a programme which is tailored to parents’ and children’s needs, and find out whether this works better than current parent training. The Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust is leading on a National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) programme grant in collaboration with South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, King’s College London, the University of Reading, the University of Liverpool and University College London.
Why are we doing this research?
We want families to be able to access the best support possible. NICE guidelines recommend group parent training programmes for parents of these children. We are interested in understanding how these group parenting programmes help families whose children have some problems with their behaviour. While these groups are helpful for the majority of children, some children may still have behaviour problems after their parents complete training.
What are we doing?
In this project we will work with parents to develop a personalised programme tailored to parents’ and children’s needs, and find out whether this works better than current parent training.
How are we doing this?
We are asking families who take part in parenting groups if they would like to participate in our research by doing some assessments and interviews. We complete these before, after and three months following parents attendance at the groups, to determine how the groups have helped each family. We also want to speak to some of the parents in further interviews and understand which aspects of the group they found helpful or unhelpful, to inform the design of a personalised programme.
