Effectiveness of a parental training programme in enhancing the parent-child relationship and reducing harsh parenting practices and parental stress in preparing children for their transition to primary school: a randomised controlled trial

• Published in: BMC public health Vol. 13; no. 1; p. 1079
• Main Authors: Li, Ho Cheung William, Chan, Sophia S C, Mak, Yim Wah, Lam, Tai Hing
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 16-11-2013; BioMed Central
• Subjects: Adult; Aggression - psychology; Analysis; Child; Children & youth; Education, Nonprofessional - methods; Families & family life; Female; Hong Kong; Humans; Male; Methods; Middle Aged; Parent and child; Parent-Child Relations; Parents & parenting; Parents - education; Parents - psychology; Program Evaluation; Psychological Tests; Schools; Stress management; Stress, Psychological - prevention & control; Studies; Wellness programs; Young Adult; Hong Kong; China, People's Rep., Hong Kong
• ISSN: 1471-2458; 1471-2458
• DOI: 10.1186/1471-2458-13-1079

Entering primary school is an important childhood milestone, marking the beginning of a child's formal education. Yet the change creates a time of vulnerability for the child, the parents and the parent-child relationship. Failure to adjust to the transition may place the family in a psychologically devastating position. The aims of this study were to test the effectiveness of a parental training programme in enhancing the parent-child relationship and decreasing parental stress by reducing harsh parenting in preparing children for the transition to primary school.
A randomised controlled trial incorporating a two-group pre-test and repeated post-test was conducted in one of the largest public housing estates in Hong Kong. A total of 142 parents were recruited, with 72 parents randomly assigned to the experimental group and 70 to the control group. Harsh parenting practices, parent-child relationships and parental stress were assessed.
In comparison to parents in the control group, those in the experimental group engaged in less harsh parenting practices and reported better parent-child relationships. However, parental stress scores did not differ significantly between the two groups.
This study addressed a gap in the literature by examining the effectiveness of the training programme for enhancing parent-child relationship and decreasing parental stress at the time of a child's transition to primary school. The findings from this study provide empirical evidence of the effectiveness of the parental training programme and highlight the significance of parenting in promoting a smooth transition for children from kindergarten to primary 1.
ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01845948.