Individually Delivered Parenting Program OPPI: Promising Results in Parental Perceptions and Children’s Behavioral Symptoms in Clinical Settings

Abstract

Parenting programs are well-established treatments for children’s behavioral problems. However, engaging parents remains challenging, and a deeper understanding of how parents perceive these programs is needed to tailor them better respond to parents’ needs. This study introduces a novel individually delivered parenting program, OPPI. We investigate parental perceptions of the program’s content and teaching formats included and its preliminary effects on children’s behavioral symptoms. The participants were 61 parents with 45 children attending the intervention at the child psychiatric clinic at Helsinki University Hospital, Finland. Parents filled out questionnaires on family background, child’s symptoms, and their perceptions of the practices and teaching formats in the intervention. Parental overall opinion about the program was highly positive; especially the guidance given by counselors was considered of high quality. Practical teaching methods were perceived by parents as both the easiest and the most useful. Parents perceived most parenting practices as useful and easy to follow. Parents also reported that children’s behavioral symptoms decreased significantly from pre- to post-intervention. Our study provides valuable information on the feasibility of formats and contents in parenting program. This can guide clinicians in focusing treatment more effectively, ultimately enhancing parental engagement and the overall effectiveness of parenting programs.