Community-based parenting training: do adapted evidence-based programmes improve parent-infant interactions?

Evidence-based parenting programmes frequently undergo modifications when delivered in community mental health centres. Adaptations are made to the original curriculum due to clientele demographics, practitioner judgement and resource restrictions. It is thus important to evaluate whether adapted interventions successfully meet their expected goals once they are implemented in the community. The current pilot study examined the effectiveness of an attachment-focused parent group training programme that was based on an empirically validated parenting course (Right from the Start), but adapted for use in a children's mental health clinic with a diverse client population. Twenty-two caregiver-child dyads participated, with children's ages ranging from 4 to 41 months. As expected, following completion of the intervention, parenting stress had decreased, parenting confidence had improved and caregivers' cognitive growth fostering skills had increased. However, the programme did not meet its primary goal of improving maternal sensitivity. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.