Evaluation of Positive Parenting Programme (Triple P) in Singapore: Improving parenting practices and preventing risks for recurrence of maltreatment

Abstract Caregivers of children in the child welfare system (CWS) often need more support in their parenting efforts. Some of these caregivers only need parenting related advices, whereas others may need more intensive training to prevent recurrence of maltreatment. Few parenting interventions can be delivered to both groups of caregivers with satisfying results. This study investigated the treatment change associated with Positive Parenting Programme (Triple P) on 83 caregivers who completed either the Level 4 version or the Level 5 (Pathways) version of the programme (mean age = 40.6 years). Repeated measure analysis showed significant improvement in common outcomes such as parenting practices, children's behaviour problems, parental satisfaction, and parents' psychological adjustment for both groups of caregivers. However, changes on Level 5 (Pathways) specific outcomes were not statistically significant. Further analysis suggested this lack of change may be due to the distinct profiles of dropouts in Level 5 Triple P. Study limitation and its implication for future research as well as programme development was also discussed.