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Introduction

Parents with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs) often need parenting support, but there are few evidence-based programmes adapted to their cognitive needs. Parenting Young Children (PYC), a home-based programme for parents with IDDs, is perceived as beneficial by parents and practitioners, but it is unclear if PYC improves parenting. The purpose of the proposed mixed-methods study is therefore to evaluate the PYC programme for improved parenting in parents with IDDs.

Methods and analysis

The quantitative evaluation will have a multi-centre, pretest-posttest study design and include parents with IDDs (children aged 0–9) in need of adapted parenting support. Goal-attainment in parenting skills, parental self-efficacy and child mental health will be measured outcomes. Interviews will be used to explore the perspectives of parents and children on PYC.

Ethics and dissemination

Particpation is based on informed consent from parents and guardians of the participating children. Ethical approval was granted by the Swedish Ethical Review Authority.

Loneliness is a common feeling often framed in negative terms. It can take several forms, including social, emotional, and existential loneliness, or through the concept of solitude, which is the desire to be alone. This qualitative study explores these types of loneliness among Swedish parents who regret having children. Our analysis of 29 interviews shows that loneliness is intertwined with regretting parenthood. Participants perceived that parental regret was unconventional, socially taboo, and unspeakable, which resulted in feelings of loneliness, shame, and guilt. They also reported that healthcare professionals, friends, and family rarely acknowledge parental feelings of regret and loneliness. Since loneliness is associated with the potential for mental health issues, it is important to build support structures for parents. In Sweden, the welfare state relies on healthcare professionals (such as nurses, midwives, and psychologists) to support parents. There is hence a need to create better support structures for parents dealing with regret and loneliness, including specialized training for healthcare professionals who work with these vulnerable groups.

BackgroundYoung children with subclinical neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) and concurrent emotional and behavioral problems (EBP) are at significant risk of negative short- and long-term outcomes. Although early parenting support interventions are recommended and requested, there is a lack of interventions specifically designed for this group and adapted to the Swedish context. Based on this gap, a parenting support intervention for parents with children aged 2-6 years with subclinical NDDs and EBP has been co-created with clinicians and parents. The project described in this study protocol aims to evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of this new group-based parenting intervention.MethodsThe project uses a multiple-baseline single-case experimental design (SCED) with pre-post measures and a 3-month follow-up. The intervention is provided to families with children who are referred to child health psychologists at the child pediatric outpatient clinic in Uppsala Region, Sweden. Outcomes will include child EBP and parent self-efficacy, stress, well-being, and quality of life, as well as costs for the intervention, health care use, and QALYs.DiscussionThe project could lead to improved mental health in both children and parents through participation in the group-based parenting intervention. The study design, with longitudinal data from both children and/or their parents, will provide valuable insights into the trajectories of mental health and well-being within this group. In addition, the inclusion of young children as informants will provide important information about their experiences. Furthermore, the use of pre-, post- and follow-up questionnaires will allow reliable and clinically significant changes to be assessed and our findings to be compared with randomized trials in similar populations. The results of this project will be relevant to children with subclinical NDDs and their parents, as well as to health care organizations and the scientific community. The intervention is well adapted to the end users and the clinical context, as it has been co-created with clinicians and parents.Trial registrationISRCTN10835479 https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN10835479, date of registration 2024-10-08.

Despite extensive research assessing parenting support, there is a lack of knowledge about the perspectives of the youngest children. In this study, we explored changes in preschool children's emotional and relational experiences at home before and after their parents participated in a parenting intervention, the Triple P parenting programme. Nine children in total were interviewed, aged 3-6 years, whose parents participated in a group parenting intervention. The interviews were conducted during the first and final group sessions attended by the children's parents. Data were analysed qualitatively, using a longitudinal approach, resulting in a deductive mapping of the children's statements onto four themes, based on the parenting intervention's main objectives. Further, changes in content for each of the four themes were assessed. Before the programme, children described conflicts with siblings, parents' negative emotions, and punitive parenting behaviours. After the programme, sibling conflicts remained, but parents' negative emotions decreased and parent threats and violence ceased. Positive family interactions and quality time increased, along with experiences of tenderness and being comforted. Parents also implemented new strategies such as verbal management and more comforting or soothing behaviours. Clinical implications of the results include promoting positive sibling relationships, emphasising parental self-regulation, encouraging empathy and reconciliation, and highlighting the importance of spending quality time with children. These findings contribute to a better understanding of children's perspectives and provide implications for clinical practice and future research.

Background

Parents of children with neurodevelopmental disorders often experience heightened levels of parenting stress and diminished well-being. However, less is known about the well-being of parents whose children exhibit symptoms of neurodevelopmental disorders without yet having a formal diagnosis.

Aim

This study aims to deepen our understanding of the need for support among families with young children with neurodevelopmental difficulties. Specifically, it explores parents’ perspectives concerning their children, life circumstances, and emotional experiences in parenting.

Methods and procedures

Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten parents of children aged 2.5–5 years, referred to a child psychologist due to reported neurodevelopmental difficulties. The interviews were transcribed and analysed using qualitative content analysis.

Outcomes and results

Two themes, each containing four and three categories, respectively, emerged in the analysis: Parenting our child with neurodevelopmental difficulties is tough in so many ways and Prevent, manage and make up like a Pro.

Conclusion and implications

The parents express very similar challenges, difficulties and problems as parents of children with diagnosed neurodevelopmental disorders. The main difference lies in the lack of accessible support or help for these parents.

What this paper adds

This study provides insights into how parents of children with suspected neurodevelopmental difficulties perceive their child and their overall life circumstances. The narratives show the challenges these parents face due to their children's multifaceted difficulties, leading to a need for multi-disciplinary support from professionals. The narratives also illustrate the strong emotions that arise in parenting, which in itself indicates a need for support. The study also provides further support for the importance of parents connecting with others facing similar life circumstances. The families often feel isolated despite the need for increased informal support in terms of more adults being involved with the children.

Objective: To investigate patterns of parenting stress and access to sufficient informal and formal support among parents of children with disabilities. To explore whether child cognitive level, conduct problems and the need of language interpretation in contacts between parents and professionals are associated with patterns of parenting stress and support.

Method: Parents (N = 140) of children with disabilities in Sweden completed a questionnaire about parenting stress and support. Patterns of three variables-parenting stress and access to sufficient informal and formal support-were investigated using cluster analysis. The relationship of child cognitive level, level of conduct problems and of language interpretation needs between parents and professionals to cluster membership was explored using multinomial logistic regression.

Results: Five different clusters of parenting stress and support emerged. Parents in cluster 1 had lower than sample mean ratings on all three variables. Cluster 2 had elevated parenting stress, cluster 3 had elevated insufficient informal support and cluster 4 had elevated insufficient formal support. Cluster 5 had elevated ratings on all three variables. Greater child cognitive difficulties increased the likelihood of parent membership in cluster 2 (elevated stress), cluster 3 (elevated insufficient informal support), or cluster 5 (elevated ratings on all variables). Child conduct problems increased the likelihood of membership in cluster 2 (elevated stress) or cluster 5 (elevated ratings on all variables). No relationship between language interpretation needs and cluster membership was found.

Conclusions: Patterns of parenting stress and sufficiency of support, and their associations with child characteristics, vary substantially. However, families of children with conduct problems experiencing elevated parenting stress in combination with insufficient informal and formal support, may be particularly vulnerable. The results of the current study highlight the clinical importance of exploring and identifying individual parenting stressors and perceived levels of support, to be able to adapt services to better suit a variety of needs, and thus promote equitable care.

A changing view of children, accelerated by the Convention of the Rights of the Child (UN in Convention on the rights of the child, UN Doc. A/RES/44/25, 1989, http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/pdf/crc.pdf) has shifted the landscape of child and family research over the last few decades. Once viewed with low credibility and operating outside the interpretive framework of adult researchers, the rights-bearing child is increasingly recognized not only as having the capacity but also the right to participate in research. More recently, this movement has transitioned from the direct engagement of children as research participants—now considered commonplace, although less so for those who are structurally vulnerable—to the involvement of children in research design, review, conduct, and dissemination. Yet, both practical and ethical challenges remain. While children have the right to participation, they also have the right to protection. In this commentary, we set out to: (i) lay forth epistemic, child rights, and child sociology arguments for doing research about, with and by children and youth; (ii) recount our own journey of including children and youth in research to demonstrate the unique knowledge and insights gained through these approaches; and (iii) offer lessons learned on how to engage children and youth in research, including the involvement of structurally vulnerable groups.

Purpose: The study aimed to assess families? resource use and to explore parents? experiences of the Sofia model, a family-based intervention for parents with substance use disorder (SUD). Methods: Interviews were conducted with 14 parents. Data were analyzed with qualitative content analysis. The resource use assessment was estimated based on data for 40 families referred to the Sofia model and 30 reference families. Results: Parents described difficulties accessing family support and differences in received services in the Sofia model. The intervention lacked focus on the children. Families? communication regarding substance use did not increase. Resource use estimations indicated larger use of services by families in the Sofie model, but little co-parent and child-specific support. Conclusions: The intervention failed its aim to focus on the children, and enhance communication about SUD. Parents voiced a need for more long-term comprehensive support for their children and themselves.

Background: Children with disabilities have an increased risk of mental health problems. Patterns of mental health problems and well-being may vary. AimsTo identify patterns of mental health problems and well-being in children with disabilities in Sweden, and investigate the influence of parental background (migration, education), and child cognitive level.

Method: In this cross-sectional study, cluster analysis was used to analyse parents' ratings of conduct problems, emotional symptoms, and prosocial behaviour on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) in children with disabilities (n = 136). The influence of parental background (migration, education) and child cognitive level on cluster membership was explored through multinomial logistic regression.

Results: Five clusters of mental health patterns emerged. Three clusters had mean ratings near or past clinical cut-off for one each of the SDQ-subscales. One cluster had difficulties on all three subscales. Greater child cognitive difficulties increased the likelihood of low prosocial behaviour (OR 2.501, p < .001) and of difficulties on all three subscales (OR 2.155, p = .006). Parental background did not influence cluster membership.

Conclusion: Children with disabilities display varying mental health patterns. Awareness of the complexity of mental health patterns among children with disabilities is important. Screening and support for emotional symptoms and prosocial behaviour deficits should be considered for children with conduct problems.

Over the past 50 years, extensive research has been published on the parent–child relationship and parenting. However, there are very few examples where young children are at the centre of attention for describing family dynamics, relationships and conflicts. This study aimed at addressing this research and knowledge gap through exploring the emotional and relational experiences of preschool children whose parents attended a universal parenting programme. Seventeen preschool children aged 3–6 were interviewed, using an emotion-focused, pictorial-based computer assisted interview method. The children’s descriptions of their family relationships were analysed using qualitative content analysis. The children described negative interplay within the families in rich detail, especially experiences where conflicts with parents escalated and were left unresolved. Moments of positive family interactions were described as well, but they were heavily overshadowed by the narratives containing negative parenting. The children also described compensatory behaviours, such as looking for comfort from siblings or pets. The narratives in this study gave a unique insight into the emotional and relational domestic context of children in families seeking universally offered parenting support. Given adequate tools and support, children as young as 3 or 4 years old could provide extensive information about their lives. We urge future research examining parenting or family interventions to include the children’s perspectives.