Parents' perceptions of a group-based parenting programme in families with child protection and other family support services in a real-life setting

The aim of this study was to assess parents' satisfaction and perceived usefulness of the Incredible Years (R) (IY (R)) parenting programme in the Child Protection Services (CPS) context, where children's behaviour problems are common. Evidence-based programmes are rarely offered in CPS, and little is known about how they are perceived by parents. We compared parents (N= 62) with (N= 43) and without (N= 19) CPS contact regarding their satisfaction with the IY (R) parenting programme, with information gathered from weekly and final evaluation forms. The attendance rate of parents to the weekly sessions (max 19) was also calculated. Comparisons between CPS and non-CPS clients were analysed using multilevel models. Satisfaction scores ranged between 5.8 and 6.2 (max 7) for all studied domains. Mean attendance rate to the group sessions was 11.5 (SD5.9), and 74% of participants attended at least nine out of 19 sessions. No group differences emerged in satisfaction or attendance between CPS and non-CPS parents. Parents in CPS committed well to the programme and found it as useful as parents without CPS contact. IY (R) appears to be acceptable to parents involved in CPS, and their engagement to the programme can be considered as reasonably good.