Familienbildung meets Gesundheitsförderung!?: Mechanismen, Potenziale und Herausforderungen gesundheitsbezogener Förderung von Elternschaft

BACKGROUND: Parenthood is a responsibility that is associated with numerous requirements and competencies in addition to care and upbringing skills. Current parental research shows that parents feel increasingly under pressure and burdened, which in turn can have an impact on overall family well-being. To counteract stress-associated illnesses in connection with excessive demands, parents—like all other family members—need favorable conditions and resources. AIM: In project ALFA (“Alles ist Familie – Familie ist alles”), the potential and mechanisms of preventive family support offers which can support parents in their competences and in promoting their psychosocial resources were examined. METHODS: In guideline-based group interviews, participants in family support offers were interviewed during the transition to parenthood. Data analysis and theory formation were carried out according to the grounded theory methodology to better understand interdependencies. RESULTS: Family support offers strengthening parenting and relationship skills at parent–child level and promotes a wide range of psychological and social resources that are relevant for the functioning of everyday family life as well as for promoting individual and family health. Family support catalyzes salutogenetic dynamics by stimulating psychosocial regulatory processes in the context of parenthood. The skills and psychosocial resources learned by the users are relevant both for creating a successful everyday family life and for promoting individual and family health. CONCLUSIONS: Acquired psychosocial resources can support parents in parenting and increase health competency, whereby the two areas are associated with each other in a transactional manner. Thus, offers combining support for families and health promotion appear advantageous and need to be more investigated in greater depth.