Everyday Life and Parenting

Forskare i projektet: Anton Dahlberg, Karin Fängström (project leader), Anna Sarkadi, Vedrana Baric Bolic
Everyday life can be challenging and filled with conflict for families with young children who show signs of neurodevelopmental disorders. Despite high demand, there are few targeted interventions to support these families. This project evaluates a parenting support course to determine whether it is an effective intervention for these families.
Details
- Period: 2024-01-01 – 2026-12-31
- Funder: Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare
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Description
Families with young children displaying signs of neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD) such as ADHD and autism often face difficulties at home. The child experiences additional challenges, there are often many conflicts, and many might feel like they are failing as parents. Children with these difficulties are at risk of suffering negative consequences in both the short and long term. Support for parents is a highly requested early intervention, but despite this, there has been a lack of support specifically directed at this group.
To meet this need, a four-session parenting course called Everyday Life and Parenting has been developed. It is offered in Region Uppsala for parents of children aged 2–6 who show signs of NDD and challenging behaviors. The children are identified at child healthcare centers (BVC) and referred to maternal and child health psychologists. The course is based on components that have been well-researched and was developed in collaboration with psychologists, special educators, and parents. The goal of the course is to reduce conflicts and improve family life. Early evaluations show that parents feel there are fewer conflicts at home with their child and that they feel better as parents.
The aim of this research project is to evaluate the Everyday Life and Parenting course, its effects, and whether it is cost-effective. The evaluation is carried out by short weekly follow-ups with parents who participate in the course, and longer surveys filled out before, immediately after, and three months after the course. The evaluation is focused on how both the children and the parents are doing after the course. We will also try to determine whether the course is beneficial from an economic perspective.
The project is a collaboration between Uppsala University, Region Uppsala, and Linköping University.
Read more about the study design
The study design is a multiple baseline single-case experimental design (SCED) with pre- and post-measurements, as well as a 3-month follow-up. The parents participating in the study will be answering weekly surveys during a baseline period of 4, 7, or 10 weeks. The weekly surveys will continue throughout the parenting course and for 4 weeks after the course is completed. The weekly survey includes questions about children's behaviors, parents' confidence in their parenting abilities, and parents' perceived stress. The survey is specifically designed for this project, but the questions are based on validated questionnaires to increase the reliability of the results.
In families where a parent agrees to participate in the study, the child is also asked if they would like to participate. If the child agrees, they will answer a short digital survey every week. This survey uses visual aids and a simple rating scale, with questions addressing the child's positive and negative experiences within the family.
Participating parents will also answer background questions and rating scales at the start of the baseline, after the course ends, and three months after the course. The main outcomes the study focuses on include child behavioral and emotional problems, parents' confidence in their own abilities, stress, well-being, and quality of life, as well as the costs of the intervention, use of healthcare services, and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs).
Researchers working in the project:
Karin Fängström (project leader), Anton Dahlberg, Filipa Sampaio, Anna Sarkadi, Vedrana Baric Bolic
Want to know more?
Contact Karin Fängström
Uppsala universitet, Region Uppsala, Linköpings universitet, FORTE