Evaluation of the Comprehensive Family Support Program (PAIF)

The goal of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of positive parenting programs targeted to parents of toddlers, children and adolescents carried out in Cantabria (Spain).

We will collect information from the participants before the intervention, in the last session of the program and some months after, to verify if there have been some changes in the family dynamics of these parents, and if these changes continue after some time. Besides, we will compare these results with information from other families that are not taking part in the program. The main caregivers of the participating families and the practitioners in charge of the intervention will provide the information for the study.

We expect that families participating in the programs will improve their parenting competencies and their family dynamics, and that these change will stay after the program.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Parenting
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Positive parenting PAIF program

Detailed Description

A quasi-experimental design will be followed, with three evaluation moments (pretest, posttest and follow-up) and with a non-randomized comparison group.

The positive parenting programs will be advertised by social media, schools and high schools. The participants will be parental figures interested in joining these programs.

The participants will answer a series of questionnaires by an app, where they will give information related to sociodemographic data and parenting competencies. The app will not allow the participants to leave any question with no answer or with an incorrect answer.

To analyze the data, we will use the softwares Mplus and Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS).

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 1429
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Spain
  • Cantabria
    • Santander, Cantabria, Spain, 39004
      • Consejería de Inclusión Social, Juventud, Familias E Igualdad

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child; Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Being caregiver of at least one child under 18 years of age
• The child to be in the developmental stage appropriate for the corresponding arm
• If participating in a targeted program, meet the requirements: (1) be a father; (2) presenting bad health habits in the family according the evaluation of the pediatrician
• Motivated to improve parenting competences

Exclusion Criteria:

• Not having sufficient command of the Spanish language to be able to communicate
• Experience family crisis that prevent for participating in a group intervention
• Experience mental health issue that prevent for participating in a group intervention

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Non-Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

8

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Parenting newborn; Program aimed at community families with children enrolled in Early Childhood Care Centers (from 0 to 2 years old).	Behavioral: Positive parenting PAIF program; Psychoeducational intervention in a group format driven by a practitioner with 6 to 12 sessions where caregivers learn parenting competences
Experimental: Parenting Toddlers; Program aimed at community families with children from 2 to 5 years old.	Behavioral: Positive parenting PAIF program; Psychoeducational intervention in a group format driven by a practitioner with 6 to 12 sessions where caregivers learn parenting competences
Experimental: Parenting Children; Program aimed at community families with children from 6 to 12 years old.	Behavioral: Positive parenting PAIF program; Psychoeducational intervention in a group format driven by a practitioner with 6 to 12 sessions where caregivers learn parenting competences
Experimental: Parenting Adolescents; Program aimed at community families with children from 12 to 18 years old.	Behavioral: Positive parenting PAIF program; Psychoeducational intervention in a group format driven by a practitioner with 6 to 12 sessions where caregivers learn parenting competences
Experimental: Active and Health Families; Program aimed at targeted families due identified needs for healthy lifestyle habits	Behavioral: Positive parenting PAIF program; Psychoeducational intervention in a group format driven by a practitioner with 6 to 12 sessions where caregivers learn parenting competences
Experimental: Functional diversity Parenting; Program aimed at targeted families whose children and/or adolescents exhibit functional diversity characteristics	Behavioral: Positive parenting PAIF program; Psychoeducational intervention in a group format driven by a practitioner with 6 to 12 sessions where caregivers learn parenting competences
No Intervention: Control; Families that are not participating in any program as they live in a comparable area where any of the intervention is offered
Experimental: Parenting as as Father; Program aimed at fathers from the community population	Behavioral: Positive parenting PAIF program; Psychoeducational intervention in a group format driven by a practitioner with 6 to 12 sessions where caregivers learn parenting competences

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Perception of the parental role	Me as a Parent Scale (MaaP), rated on a 5-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 to 5. Higher scores mean a better outcome.	Pretest, immediately posttest and 6 month follow-up
Parenting practices (Authoritative parenting style: Warmth and Support, Reasoning/Induction, Democratic Participation)	Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire - Short version (PSDQ-Short version), rated on a 5-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 to 5. Higher scores mean a better outcome.	Pretest, immediately posttest and 6 month follow-up
Parenting practices (Overreactivity and Laxness)	Parenting Scale - Short version (PS), rated on a 7-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 to 7. Higher scores mean a worse outcome.	Pretest, immediately posttest and 6 month follow-up

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Satisfaction with the intervention	Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ-4), rated on a 4-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 to 4. Higher scores mean a better outcome.	Immediately Posttest
Children adjustment	Kidscreen-10, rated on a 5-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 to 5. Higher scores mean a better outcome.	Pretest, immediately posttest and 6 month follow-up
Social support	Ad hoc questionnaire, with 3 items rated on a 5-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 = Nothing to 4 = A lot ("I feel supported as a father/mother). Higher scores mean a better outcome.	Pretest, immediately posttest and 6 month follow-up
Satisfaction with Family Life	Satisfaction with Family Life Scale (SWFLS), rated on a 7-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 to 7. Higher scores mean a better outcome.	Pretest, posttest and follow-up

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Seville
• Collaborators: University of Jaén; Loyola University; Gobierno de Cantabria

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Larsen DL, Attkisson CC, Hargreaves WA, Nguyen TD. Assessment of client/patient satisfaction: development of a general scale. Eval Program Plann. 1979;2(3):197-207. doi: 10.1016/0149-7189(79)90094-6. No abstract available.
• Hamilton, V., Matthews, J. & Crawford, S. (2015). Development and preliminary validation of a parenting self-regulation scale: "Me as a Parent". Journal of Child & Family Studies. 24(10), 2853-2864. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-014-0089-z
• Robinson, C. C., Mandleco, B., Olsen, S. F., & Hart, C. H. (1995). Authoritative, Authoritarian, and Permissive Parenting Practices: Development of a New Measure. Psychological Reports, 77(3), 819-830. https://doi.org/10.2466/pr0.1995.77.3.819
• Reitman D, Currier RO, Hupp SD, Rhode PC, Murphy MA, O'Callaghan PM. Psychometric characteristics of the Parenting Scale in a head start population. J Clin Child Psychol. 2001 Dec;30(4):514-24. doi: 10.1207/S15374424JCCP3004_08.
• Ramon B. Zabriskie & Peter J. Ward (2013) Satisfaction With Family Life Scale, Marriage & Family Review, 49:5, 446-463, DOI: 10.1080/01494929.2013.768321

Helpful Links

• Website of the instrument Kidscreen-10

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): February 20, 2024
• Primary Completion (Actual): December 23, 2025
• Study Completion (Actual): December 23, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 7, 2024
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 22, 2024
• First Posted (Actual): February 29, 2024

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): May 4, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 28, 2026
• Last Verified: April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Effectiveness; Family functioning; Program evaluation; Parenting practices; Positive parenting; Parenting competences
• Other Study ID Numbers: 4792/0842

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO
• IPD Plan Description: The project is framed in an agreement with the Govern of Cantabria and the researchers have no authorization for sharing individual participant data.

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No