Self-Help Triple P in the Netherlands: translation, adaptation, and evaluation

Summary:

Because parents are so vital to children's development within the family, there is increasing emphasis today on providing support, guidance and treatment services to adults who face parenting problems. Although some services are now available to parents in the Netherlands, very few evidence-based parenting support programmes to treat behavioural and emotional problems have been validated for the Dutch situation. There is a pressing need for such programmes. Between 2003 and 2006, the Triple P parenting support programme was partially implemented in the Netherlands.

Our research group is now introducing Triple P in its entirety, translating and adapting it and testing its effectiveness. The Triple P programme distinguishes five levels of support, designed to address the differing needs that families have. Together these form a comprehensive system of interventions that provide parents with the information and support they need in bringing up their children. Although Self-Help Triple P (the level-4 self-administered variant for parents of children with severe behavioural problems) has not yet been implemented in the Netherlands, a recent meta-analysis has found that it has strong positive effects both on children's behavioural problems and on the parenting skills, self-confidence and satisfaction of their parents (Speetjens and de Graaf, in prep.). The aim of the project is to translate Self-Help Triple P, adapt it to the Dutch situation, and test its effectiveness in a randomised controlled non-inferiority trial, in order to ultimately improve its implementation and resource materials in the Netherlands.