25 Years of Impact: Our Commitment to Research and Evidence-Based Practice
Parents Plus is an evidence-based organisation that provides a range of services and professionals in Ireland and around the world.
Our goal is to support professionals with the tools to help parents and caregivers in raising resilient, confident, and happy children and young people.
At the core of the Parents Plus approach is a commitment to research and evidence-based practice. We believe that the best way to support professionals is to provide programs that are based on the latest research and best practices in the field of child and family psychology.
One of the key features of the Parents Plus approach is our commitment to rigorous evaluation of our programs. Each of the programs offered by us has undergone extensive evaluation to ensure their effectiveness in improving outcomes for families. The evaluation reports are available on our website, providing transparency and accountability for the organisation’s work.
In a meta-analysis conducted by Dr. Alan Carr, the effectiveness of the Parents Plus Programs was evaluated in 16 studies, including over 1,000 families. The results show that the programs were effective in improving effective in reducing child emotion/behaviour problems, reducing parent stress, increasing therapeutic goal achievement and parental satisfaction and reducing children’s behaviour problems.
The meta-analysis included evaluating the Parents Plus Early Years Program, Children’s Program, Adolescent Program, and Working Things Out Program. The Parents Plus Early Years Program was found to be effective in improving parental sensitivity and children’s social-emotional development. The Children’s Program showed effectiveness in reducing children’s behaviour problems and increasing parental satisfaction with parenting skills. The Adolescent Program was effective in improving parental behaviour, reducing adolescents’ behaviour problems, and increasing family cohesion. Finally, the Working Things Out Program was effective in improving parental relationship satisfaction and reducing parental conflict.
Overall, the Parents Plus Programs showed a significant impact on families’ lives, with the effect sizes ranging from small to large, depending on the program evaluated. These programs have been shown to be effective in different settings, including community, clinical, and school-based interventions. Additionally, the meta-analysis showed that the Parents Plus Programs’ effectiveness was not limited to specific types of families or cultural groups.
The study also highlighted the importance of early intervention in improving outcomes for families. The Parents Plus Early Years Program, in particular, showed effectiveness in improving children’s social-emotional development, an area crucial for a child’s overall development.
Dr. Carr’s meta-analysis also noted the need for more research to evaluate the long-term effectiveness of the Parents Plus Programs. Additionally, further research is required to understand how the programs work, why they work, and how they can be tailored to meet the needs of different families.
In conclusion, the meta-analysis conducted by Dr. Alan Carr provides evidence of the effectiveness of the Parents Plus Programs in improving parental behaviour and reducing children’s behaviour problems. The study highlights the importance of early intervention and the need for more research to understand how these programs work and how they can be tailored to meet the needs of different families. The Parents Plus Programs offer a promising intervention for families seeking support in various settings, and their effectiveness is not limited to specific types of families or cultural groups.
