Effectiveness of Positive Parenting Program on Improving Children’s Behavior Problems

Background: The positive parenting program has been developed based on social learning principles and is recognized as a potent intervention to help the children with behavioral problems. Objectives: The present study aimed to assess the effectiveness of the triple P (positive parenting program) for mothers on the reduction of the behavioral disorders of their children. Methods: This quasi-experimental was conducted with a pretest-posttest and a control group. In total, 78 mothers employed in the hospitals affiliated to Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Iran who had children aged 2 - 12 years were selected, and their children were randomly assigned to the experimental (n = 39) and control groups (n = 39). The triple P intervention was implemented in the experimental group for eight sessions. Data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics and the analysis of covariance. Results: The mean age of the mothers was 33.52 ± 3.9 years. The triple P intervention could effectively reduce the behavioral disorders of the children, while it had no effects on the parenting styles, and depression, anxiety, and stress of the mothers. Conclusions: According to the results, the positive parenting program could be used as a preventive and therapeutic method for the reduction of behavioral issues in children, as well as parental anxiety and depression in relation to children.