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It Takes a Group to Raise a Child?: Exploring How Group-Based Parenting Programs Support Parents

par Mathijs, Louise
Président du jury Roblain, Antoine
Promoteur Van Petegem, Stijn Julien
Co-Promoteur Magalhães, Cátia
Publication Non publié, 2025-10-07

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Résumé :

It is believed that parents are active agents who contribute to the course and outcome of children’s overall development. Over the past decades, parenting programs have emerged as a widely implemented strategy to enhance parenting practices and prevent or reduce child behavioral difficulties. Parenting programs aim to strengthen the quality of the parent-child relationship and enhance parental knowledge and competence. While substantial evidence supports their effectiveness in improving parenting behavior and parental mental health, less is known about the difference in effects between delivery formats and how and why such programs are effective. Furthermore, today, parenting takes place within a context characterized by high societal expectations and growing individualism, which may color parents’ experiences with parenting support programs. Therefore, to address these gaps, we propose three overall research goals that are addressed throughout three empirical Chapters: (1) to examine the difference in effects between group-based and individual parenting programs, (2) to explore the mechanisms of change that may have operated throughout a group-based parenting program, and (3) to situate parents’ experiences with group-based parenting support in a broader, sociocultural context.In Chapter 2, we conducted a meta-analysis to compare group-based parenting programs with individual programs in their effects on child behavior management, parenting stress, and parental mental health. Our sample included evaluations of 121 group-based and 41 individual parenting programs based on social learning theory. Robust variance estimation indicated that both group-based and individual programs are effective in improving parents’ use of child behavior management techniques and parenting stress. In contrast, parental depressive symptoms improved only in group-based programs. In Chapter 3, we employed a qualitative methodological approach to explore parents’ perceptions of change mechanisms that may have operated during participation in a group-based parenting program. Specifically, we explored parents’ narratives using semi-structured, post-intervention interviews with 17 participants. Parents reported several change mechanisms that may have operated during the program, including shifts in parents’ beliefs and behaviors, developing strategies to manage parenting difficulties, and experiencing parenting support. We further situated these findings in a broader sociocultural context. Finally, building on Chapter 3, Chapter 4 presents a pragmatic case study exploring the change mechanisms of a distressed father following a group-based program. An in-depth evaluation of the case’s change mechanisms was conducted by combining a clinical analysis and a post-intervention interview with independent measures of the process and the outcome, thereby integrating both qualitative and quantitative methods. This last empirical Chapter further unpacked the ways in which sociocultural factors may have shaped a father’s perceptions and experiences with the program.In conclusion, this work sheds light on how group-based parenting programs support and benefit parents and further highlights the role of the sociocultural context in shaping their experiences with this type of support. Practical implications for the clinical field are discussed, highlighting how parenting programs can serve as a valuable strategy to foster supportive connections among parents and to promote overall family well-being.