Parental training in groups: a brief health promotion program

OBJECTIVE: To propose a brief parenting program offered in the context of health promotion and evaluate the immediate results relating to use of appropriate parenting practices and quality of parent-child interaction. METHODS: Forty-five parents of school-age children from two non-governmental institutions located in a medium-sized city in the state of Sao Paulo participated in the study. The following assessment tools were used in the pre and post-tests: the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), Quality of Family Interaction Scales (EQIFs), and the Brazilian Economic Classification Criteria (CCEB). Only scores of parents who attended 75% of the program were included in the analysis (25 participants). RESULTS: Most of the participants who completed the program were grouped in socioeconomic levels B and C (72%) and the complaints reported in the pre-test centered on disobedience and stubbornness (29.6%, each). Regarding parents’ perceptions of their educational practices and interaction with the children, improvements were detected in several of the aspects measured: affective relationship, involvement, model, communication, rules and monitoring, and children’s feelings, besides reduction in use of physical punishment and negative marital atmosphere (p < 0.03). Reductions were detected in aggressive behavior (p = 0.02) and externalizing problems (p = 0.04). CONCLUSION: Despite the small sample and application in a specific community, this quick and affordable intervention seems to have yielded improvements in parent’s monitoring and their affective relationships with their children, in addition to reductions in punishments and children’s aggressive behavior, contributing to better parent-child interaction in the community.