Parents dealing with disobedience needed

The University of Auckland
Media Release
30 September 2009

Parents dealing with disobedience needed for study

Researchers are calling for parents of disobedient three to five-year-olds to take part in a study, and learn strategies to improve their parenting.

The Triple P Research Group at The University of Auckland’s Faculty of Education is recruiting parents who are struggling with their child’s uncooperative behaviour to attend a discussion group. Trained psychologists will present strategies to the group to manage disobedient behaviour and improve a child’s ability to follow instructions. The strategies are based on 30 years of research ῢy the Triple P Positive Parenting Program, and have previously been used to helpᾠparents in Australia.

Volunteers will provide feedback on the discussion group and long-term effectiveness of the strategies via questionnaires. The researchers will use the feedback to tailor the programme to a New Zealand context.

“We are hoping to see children’s behaviour improve after parents receive the training, as well as positive changes in the areas of parental well-being, stress and family relationships,” Research Fellow Dr Cassy Dittman says.

“Disobedience among this age group is a common problem for parents. We are looking for parents struggling with the normal challenges of managing their child’s behaviour who want to learn better techniques to deal with disobedience.”

Parents will practise the strategies in the session, and will develop an implementation plan tailored to their family.

The trial is being managed by researcher Kirsten Smeets as part of her Masters studies. She is visiting The University of Auckland from Radboud University Nijmegen in the Netherlands.

The research team is looking for 60 parents to take part. Any parents who miss out can register to be contacted about future Triple P programmes.

Participation is free and mothers or fathers are encouraged to attend. The two hour discussion groups will be held at the Triple P Research Group clinic at the Faculty of Education in Epsom, starting in late October.

To volunteer contact the research team on 09 623 8899 ext. 48788 or email tprg@auckland.ac.nz. For more information on Triple P visit www.triplep.net.

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