Introduction
Infancy is an important period in a child's life, and adverse experiences during this stage can have both an immediate and lifelong impacts on the child's mental health and well-being. This study evaluates the effects of the Incredible Years Parents and Babies (IYPB) program as a universal intervention for parents with infants.
Method
We conducted a pragmatic, two-arm, parallel pilot randomized controlled trial, in which 112 families with newborns were randomized to the IYPB program (76) or usual care (36) with a 2:1 allocation ratio. The primary outcome was parenting confidence measured after 20 weeks, using the Karitane Parenting Confidence Scale and Parental Stress Scale. Secondary outcomes include measures of parent health, parent-child relationship, infant development, parent-child activities, network, and economy. Interviewers and data analysts were blind to allocation status. Multiple linearregression analyses were used for evaluating the effect of the intervention on primary and secondary outcomes.
Results
There was no intervention effect on the primary outcomes. For secondary outcomes, intervention mothers reported a significantly smaller network than control mothers (β = -0.15 [-1.85,-0.28]). None of the other secondary outcomes showed any effects. When examining the lowest-functioning mothers in a moderator analysis, we found that intervention mothers report significantly higher parent stress (β = 5.33 [0.27,10.38]), lower confidence (β = -2.37 [-4.45,-0.29]), and worse mental health than control mothers (β = -18.62 [-32.40,-4.84]). The highest functioning mothers report significantly
lower parent stress (β = -6.11 [-11.07,-1.14]) than intervention mothers.
Conclusion
We found no effects of the IYPB as a universal intervention for parents with infants at post-intervention. The intervention may need adjusting if it is to meet the expectations and needs of a universal group of parents.
Infancy is an important period in a child's life, and adverse experiences during this stage can have both an immediate and lifelong impacts on the child's mental health and well-being. This study evaluates the effects of the Incredible Years Parents and Babies (IYPB) program as a universal intervention for parents with infants.
Method
We conducted a pragmatic, two-arm, parallel pilot randomized controlled trial, in which 112 families with newborns were randomized to the IYPB program (76) or usual care (36) with a 2:1 allocation ratio. The primary outcome was parenting confidence measured after 20 weeks, using the Karitane Parenting Confidence Scale and Parental Stress Scale. Secondary outcomes include measures of parent health, parent-child relationship, infant development, parent-child activities, network, and economy. Interviewers and data analysts were blind to allocation status. Multiple linearregression analyses were used for evaluating the effect of the intervention on primary and secondary outcomes.
Results
There was no intervention effect on the primary outcomes. For secondary outcomes, intervention mothers reported a significantly smaller network than control mothers (β = -0.15 [-1.85,-0.28]). None of the other secondary outcomes showed any effects. When examining the lowest-functioning mothers in a moderator analysis, we found that intervention mothers report significantly higher parent stress (β = 5.33 [0.27,10.38]), lower confidence (β = -2.37 [-4.45,-0.29]), and worse mental health than control mothers (β = -18.62 [-32.40,-4.84]). The highest functioning mothers report significantly
lower parent stress (β = -6.11 [-11.07,-1.14]) than intervention mothers.
Conclusion
We found no effects of the IYPB as a universal intervention for parents with infants at post-intervention. The intervention may need adjusting if it is to meet the expectations and needs of a universal group of parents.