How an Intervention to Promote Positive Parenting Affects Parental Stress

Abstract

Fundamentals: Parental education programs, promoting positive parenting, reducing parental stress. Assessments that demonstrate
these effects are rare in Spain and Latin America and in no case do they explore predictors of success. This study analyzes the changes in parental stress brought about by the "Parenting Skills Development Program for Families" (PSP), which is based on parental education, promoted by community nurses, and identifies the socio-demographic factors associated with added stress reduction. Method: Sociodemographic information was collected on 257 participants prior to the intervention and on parental stress before and after the intervention. The Spanish version of the Parental Stress Scale was used. A nonparametric test and binary logistic regression were applied. Results: A bivariate analysis identified a reduction in parental stress in all the categories of predictor variables. A multivariate analysis showed that men, as well as persons with lower levels of education and unemployed persons had more likelihood of reducing stress. Conclusions: PSP is an effective intervention to reduce parental stress in different population groups. This study helps to strengthen the incipient findings of international research and to respond to the void in Latin American countries concerning the role of social determinants as predictors of parental stress reduction generated through parental education programs.