PUB - Publikationen an der Universität Bielefeld

Background: Mental problems in children are widelspread and cannot be reduced through psychotherapeutic intervention alone. Prevention is therefore urgently needed, though it is unclear how efficacious such strategies may be, particularly in the long term. Objective: Can a parent-centered universal prevention program that is effective in the short term also yield significant effects in the long term? Methods: Parents were randomly assigned to the prevention program (parent training with the Positive Parenting Program, Triple P, EG) or the control group (KG) according to their children's preschool location. The long-term efficacy of the program was established with self-report measures of both parents three years after the first assessment. Results: Both parents reported significant reductions in dysfunctional parenting behavior, and from the mothers' point of view a positive parenting behavior effect could be established for the first time. The positive effects on child problem behavior reported earlier did no longer occur. Single-parent mothers in the prevention program did not yield significantly better effects in parenting or child externalizing problem behavior than single-parent mothers in the control group, which is primarily due to the latter's unexpectedly high positive effects. Conclusions: The results support the long-term efficacy of the Triple P Group Program as a universal prevention program for changing parenting behavior in two-parent households, but not necessarily in single-parent mothers. A change in child problem behavior is no longer detectable after three years.