Group-Based Parenting Programmes Could Save State Thousands According to Study Led by NUI Maynooth Psychologists

 

19 April 2012 Researchers from the Department of Psychology at NUI Maynooth have shown, for the first time that group-based parenting programmes, are more effective and cost efficient in reducing childhood conduct problems and antisocial behaviour.

The HRB-funded study, led by Mairéad Furlong and Dr. Sinéad McGilloway, and involving an international team, was published recently as a prestigious Cochrane review.  This comprehensive review involved an appraisal of over 16,000 articles gathered from studies of parenting programmes around the world.  Mairead Furlong has been invited to present the work at an international colloquium in Copenhagen next month.

The review highlighted the significant financial benefit to the State of early parenting programmes, with the cost of delivering parenting programmes in a group setting far outweighing the cost of long-term antisocial behaviour. 

A typical parenting programme costs approximately €2,200 per family while the long-term health, social, educational and legal costs associated with childhood antisocial behaviour can cost up to €315,000 per family. Group-based interventions have also been shown to improve parental mental health.

The review found that group-based parenting programmes can be successfully implemented within different service settings and across all socioeconomic backgrounds, including the most disadvantaged.

According to Dr Sinéad McGilloway of the Department of Psychology at NUI Maynooth, the results are of particular significance for parents, practitioners and policymakers in informing future decision-making on service planning, and early intervention leading to the prevention and treatment of childhood conduct problems and antisocial behaviour.

 

Ends: 19 April 2012

For more information:

Dr Sinéad McGilloway                 +353 (0) 1 708 4765