Effects of universally offered parenting interventions for parents with infants: a systematic review

OBJECTIVES: From a developmental perspective, infancy is a critical stage of life. Early childhood interventions aim to support caretakers, but the effects of universal interventions for parents with infants are unknown. The objective is to determine the effects of universal parenting interventions offered to parents with infants 0–12 months on measures of child development and parent–child relationship. DESIGN: A systematic review using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis. We extracted publications from 10 databases in June 2013, January 2015 and June 2016 and supplemented with grey and hand search. Risk of bias was assessed, and effect sizes were calculated. PARTICIPANTS: Inclusion criteria are: (1) randomised controlled trials of structured, psychosocial interventions offered to a universal population of parents with infants 0–12 months old in western OECD countries, (2) interventions that include a minimum of 3 sessions with at least half of the sessions delivered postnatally and (3) programme outcomes reported for child development or parent–child relationship. RESULTS: 14 papers representing 7 studies are included. There were no statistically significant effects of the intervention for the majority of the primary outcomes across the studies. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this review are mixed. No clear conclusions can be drawn regarding the effects of universally offered parenting interventions on child development and parent–child relationship for this age group.