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Coparents and parenting programmes: do both parents need to attend?

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Journal of Family Therapy

Published online on

Abstract

Numerous parents participate in parenting programmes to promote child development, but few programmes consider relationships within family systems. While both parents’ attendance can improve outcomes, both are rarely able to attend, with mothers typically being the participant. The study aims to understand whether changes to parenting practices can occur from one parent's attendance and, if so, what factors promote the non‐attending parent's modified parenting practices. A mixed‐method evaluation was conducted: semi‐structured interviews, surveys and focus groups. In this study, both parents attributed changes to their parenting practices to programme participation. This was facilitated by mothers giving programme information to fathers and positive coparent relationships. Ideally, both parents would attend every session; however, it is posited that this may not always be necessary for promoting positive parenting. Implications to support families are discussed. Practitioner points Fathers can be included in parenting interventions through mothers, if the coparents’ relationship is positive. If practitioners conducted relationship assessments with coparents, necessary delivery modifications could be made to facilitate both parents’ participation. Alternatively, parenting practitioners could provide couples’ counselling to coparents, either before or during the delivery of parenting interventions. 双亲与教养课程:需要双亲都参加吗? 许多父母都参加了教养课程以促进孩子的发展, 但是很少有课程考虑到了家庭系统里的关系。虽然父母的共同参加能产生更好的结果, 但是这种情况实际上很少发生, 而大多数时候则是母亲在参加。该研究旨在考察父母一方的单独参与是否能产生教养方式的变化, 并且, 如果是的话, 推动未参加家长的教养方式变化的因素是什么。我们使用混合研究法进行了评估:半结构式访谈, 调查问卷和焦点小组。在本研究中, 父母双方都将其教养方式的改变归功于在课程中的参与。母亲向父亲传达课程内容以及良好的双亲关系也起到了推动作用。理想的情况是父母双方都能参加每一次的课程;然而, 我们认为在促进良性教养的过程中, 这并不是必需的。本文也讨论了支持家庭的一些建议。 对实务工作者的启示 如果父母双方的关系良好的话, 可以通过母亲来将父亲纳入到教养方面的干预之中。 如果实务工作者针对父母双方开展关系评估的话, 需要在措辞上做一些调整以保证双方的参与。 或者, 实务工作者可以在教养干预之前或之后向父母双方提供夫妻咨询。 关键词:双亲;教养课程;家庭关系