Investigating a Brief Positive Parenting Seminar Series as a Universal Intervention

Additional work is needed to increase the accessibility and scalability of parenting interventions to improve youth outcomes. Selected Triple P is a brief, evidence-based parenting program, but the efficacy of telehealth delivery has not yet been tested. The primary aim of this randomized controlled trial was to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of Selected Triple P delivered as a universal intervention through telehealth. A secondary aim involved investigating whether an active discussion component administered by a mental health provider improved outcomes. Participants included 97 parents/caregivers of children ages 2-12 who were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: intervention as usual (90-minute condition; n = 32), intervention without an active discussion component (60-minute condition; n = 24), or waitlist control (n = 41). Parents completed assessments at baseline and 2-months post-intervention. No baseline differences were found between conditions on any demographic or outcome variables. Parents assigned to both intervention conditions reported high levels of satisfaction and acceptability, with no significant differences observed between groups. Results from multilevel models indicated that, compared to the control group, parents in the 90-minute condition reported significant increases in positive reinforcement and overall positive parenting, along with reductions in parental hostility; decreases in overall negative parenting also approached significance for parents in this condition. Although changes were not statistically significant for parents in the 60-minute condition relative to the control group, there were no significant differences between intervention conditions across these outcomes. Current findings have implications for the scalability and dissemination of universal parenting interventions, as well as strategies for increasing access to mental health services among families.