Parenting Wisely
Problems addressed
Externalizing behaviors/problems
Low parental skills
Family breakdown and/or dysfunctionality
Effectiveness

Promising

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Promising

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Life periods served
Children (4 to 13 years)
Teenagers (14 to 17 years)
Adults (18 to 59 years)
Where the program was applied
Education establishment
Residence / home
Country of application
Australia
United States
Ireland
Description

This is a digital intervention of parental training and strengthening of relationships aimed at parents and children, and managed through the autonomous use of computers by the users themselves. The objective is to reduce children’s behavioral problems and improve family bonds.
The program offers roleplaying videos of conflict situations experienced by families, and users must choose the best option for conflict resolution. Through scores and comments, the program points out the most common mistakes made by parents and teaches efficient parenting strategies and skills.
The intervention must be applied twice in six months and requires a dedication of three to five hours per application.

Impact evaluations

Impact evaluation studies reveal that the program has been helpful in increasing parents’ knowledge of the most effective strategies and skills, as well as parent satisfaction, and a reduction in children’s behavior problems [1] [2] [3] [4]. There was an improvement in family involvement and problem-solving, family roles, family engagement, parental self-efficacy, and sense of competence, and a decrease in adolescent violent behavior [5] [6].

Bibliographic reference

[1] Kacir, C., & Gordon, D. A. (1999). Parenting Adolescents Wisely: The effectiveness of an interactive videodisk parent training program in Appalachia. Child and Family Behavior Therapy, 21(4), 1-22. https://doi.org/10.1300/J019v21n04_01

[2] O'Neill, H., & Woodward, R. (2002). Evaluation of the Parenting Wisely CD-ROM parent training programme: An Irish replication. Irish Journal of Psychology, 23(1), 62-72. https://www.familyworksinc.com/uploads/2/0/5/2/20527778/o_neillms.pdf

[3] Segal, D., Chen, P. Y., Gordon, D. A., Kacir, C. D., & Gylys, J. (2003). Development and evaluation of a parenting intervention program: Integration of scientific and practical approaches.International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, 15(3), 453-467. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327590IJHC1503_09

[4] Cefai, J., Smith, D., & Pushak, R. E. (2010). Parenting Wisely: Parent training via CD-ROM with an Australian sample. Child & Family Behavior Therapy, 32, 17-33. https://doi.org/10.1080/07317100903539709

[5] Cotter, K. L., Bacallao, M., Smokowski, P. R., & Robertson, C. I. B. (2013). Parenting interventions implementation science: How delivery format impacts the Parenting Wisely program. Research on Social Work Practice, 23(6), 639-650. https://www.learntechlib.org/p/155043/

[6] Stalker , K. C., Rose, R. A., Bacallao, M., & Smokowski, P. R. (2018). Parenting Wisely six months later: How implementation delivery impacts program effects at follow-up. The Journal of Primary Prevention, 39(2), 129-153. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29453502/

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