Examining the Effect of Peer-Led Parenting Interventions on the Wellbeing of Parents With Children With an Emotional or Behavioural Disorder – A Systematic Review

BackgroundParents of children with emotional or behavioural disorders (EBD) experience challenges with their own wellbeing. Parenting practices are impacted by parent wellbeing and are vital to supporting children with EBD. Programs with peer-led components, aimed at developing healthy parenting skills have been developed. While peer-led parenting interventions for parents of children with EBD have led to positive outcomes for children, outcomes related to parent wellbeing are not known. This systematic review examines the impact of peer-led parenting programs on the wellbeing of parents of children with EBD.MethodsA systematic review across 7 databases was conducted. 1009 articles were screened, and 13 met criteria for inclusion.ResultsThis study identified 8 peer-led parenting interventions. 11 outcome measures of parent wellbeing were used across the 13 studies. 7 studies reported statistically significant improvement in parent wellbeing outcomes. The 6 studies that did not report statistically significant improvement showed a trend toward improved parent wellbeing on outcome measure scores.ConclusionsFindings indicate the potential for peer-led parenting interventions to have a positive impact on parent wellbeing. Future research is needed to determine how to meaningfully measure parent wellbeing and what aspects of peer-led parenting interventions positively impact parent wellbeing.