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BACKGROUND: Premature infants are at increased risk for cerebral palsy (CP). Early interventions with a motor focus and administered by parents may improve motor outcomes. AIMS: Secondary study evaluating the short-term motor outcomes and risk for CP in very low birthweight (VLBW) infants randomized to multimodal interventions with a motor focus provided by parents versus usual care. STUDY DESIGN: Randomized controlled trial (intervention vs. usual care (control group)). SUBJECTS: Infants (<32 weeks' gestational age (GA) and/or <1500 grams birthweight) born between March 2019 and October 2020. OUTCOME MEASURES: Short-term motor outcomes and risk for CP was evaluated using the Hammersmith Infant Neurological Evaluation (HINE, primary motor outcome), the General Movement Assessment (GMA) and the Test of Infant Motor Performance (TIMP) at 3 months' postmenstrual age (PMA). RESULTS: 70 participants were enrolled (GA 28.3±2.7 weeks, birthweight 1139.2±376.6 grams, 64.3% male). The in-person follow-up rate was 73%, lower than expected, in part due to COVID-19 restrictions, resulting in 25 infants (intervention) and 26 infants (control) with outcome data available for analysis. There was not a significant difference in the HINE, GMA or TIMP at 3 months' PMA between groups. CONCLUSION: Multimodal interventions with a motor focus and provided by parents need further investigation to determine if they can improve short-term motor outcomes in VLBW infants. These interventions are evidence-based and the evaluation of broader implementation into routine care is also needed.

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This study aimed to enhance the interpretability and clinical utility of the strength and stressors in parenting (SSF) questionnaire, a parent-reported questionnaire designed to assess strength, stress and associated risks of mental ill-health in parents of children with developmental disabilities. Responses to the SSF and a demographic questionnaire were collected from 576 parents of children with (n = 203) and without (n = 373) developmental disabilities. To enhance the interpretability of the SSF, a subset of 129 parents were invited to complete an additional questionnaire consisting of three free-text questions regarding recent help-seeking behavior, experiences of mental ill-health and experiences of parenthood. Parents' responses to the free-text questions were then categorized as indicative of higher or lower degrees of stress and compared to their SSF score distribution to derive empirical cut-offs for strength, stress and risk of mental ill-health as measured by the SSF. The credibility of these cut-offs was evaluated by comparing the cut-offs with SSF scores collected from the other 447 parents. Finally, SSF scores from parents of children without developmental disabilities (n = 373) were used to generate percentile values for the SSF to enable a standardized interpretation of SSF scores. To increase the utility of the SSF, we examined a recurring pattern of missing answers to items 23 and 33-38, noted in previous studies of the SSF and repeated in the present study. These items were excluded from further analysis since our examination revealed that they were not missing at random but rather constituted real differences in parental experiences, such as receiving a healthcare allowance, or caring for more than one child. The proposed empirical cut-offs performed well in discriminating between the two groups and yielded a specificity of 77-89% and a sensitivity of 68-76% for the strength, stress and risk of mental ill-health subscales of the SSF. This study also presents a conversion chart associating each SSF score with a corresponding percentile value. We propose modifications to the SSF, whereby items 23 and 33-38 are excluded, which will enable a more reliable assessment of parental experiences. This will, together with the empirical cut-offs and percentile values, enhance the interpretability and clinical utility of the SSF.

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Practitioners are recognized as one of the key components that make parenting interventions meaningful and helpful to families, and the impact of practitioners' skills on the outcomes of parenting interventions has been consistently recognized in research. However, the mechanisms and ongoing processes through which the practitioners' actions and skills may impact parental engagement and other outcomes remain unknown. This qualitative study explored parents' perceptions about the processes through which specific practitioners' skills contribute to the outcomes of the Incredible Years Basic Parent Program (IYPP). Twenty-four Portuguese parents who had completed the IYPP were interviewed in four focus groups, and the data were analyzed through thematic analysis. Practitioners' skills were perceived by parents as having an impact on their engagement in the program, their process of change, and their interpersonal relationships. Practitioners were perceived to demonstrate their influence in the intervention process through six different roles: the roles of a confidant, a positive coach, a partner, a maestro, a tailor, and a congruent person. This study reinforces the prominent role of practitioners in enabling parental outcomes of an evidence-based parenting program and suggests that more attention should be paid to continuing supervision and other professional development processes.

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AIM: Prolonged hospitalisation in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) can emotionally tax newborn infants and their families, resulting in developmental adversities and inadequate parent-infant bonding. This study aimed to assess the feasibility and value of the Baby@Home program in reducing prolonged hospital stays. METHODS: This is a retrospective cohort study of 26 infants from a tertiary neonatology department, using qualitative data (gathered through interviews with parents (n = 15) and professionals (n = 5)) and quantitative data (retrieved from medical records and the Luscii application). RESULTS: Our study included 26 newborn infants. 76% were premature, born at an average term of 35 weeks and 2 days. During the study period, all infants thrived, and only two adverse events occurred (an allergic reaction and respiratory incident necessitating readmission). Interviews were conducted based on six major themes concerning the feasibility and value of the program. Despite the challenges of application utilisation, the program's overall value was evident. CONCLUSION: The Baby@Home program effectively facilitated early discharge, promoted family reunification, and yielded favourable safety and health outcomes. Innovative solutions such as Baby@Home have the potential to pave the way for more sustainable and patient-centred care models.

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BACKGROUND: Zambian adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) have high HIV incidence and face barriers to the use of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Parental support improves PrEP use and adherence in some settings, but negative parental attitudes toward HIV prevention may inhibit engagement with AGYW. We explored perceptions of future PrEP methods among AGYW and parents and parent-youth engagement on HIV prevention and PrEP use. METHODS: We conducted a qualitative descriptive study among AGYW and parents of AGYW in five provinces in Zambia in September-October 2021. We conducted 10 focus group discussions (FGDs) and four in-depth interviews (IDIs) with AGYW participants (n = 87) and seven FGDs and four IDIs among parents of AGYW (n = 62). All FGDs and IDIs were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed to identify qualitative themes. RESULTS: Most AGYW participants preferred the discreet nature and longer duration of injectable PrEP compared to the PrEP ring and oral PrEP. Many AGYWs reported inability to disclose PrEP use to their parents due to lack of parental support based on cultural taboos against premarital sex. Nevertheless, AGYW participants said they would like to talk to their parents about PrEP so their parents could support their use. Many parents also described difficulties discussing PrEP with their daughters because of cultural and religious beliefs about abstinence from sex before marriage. However, parents acknowledged that the threat of HIV is real and said they need PrEP knowledge and guidance on speaking with their children about HIV prevention and PrEP. CONCLUSIONS: Although many parents are currently not playing a role in daughters' decisions about PrEP use, both parents and AGYW are willing to engage with each other on HIV prevention issues. To foster parent-child engagement, HIV prevention programs should not only provide information about PrEP but also address social norms that impede discussion of HIV prevention and equip both parents and AGYW with skills and support for such conversations. Community sensitization is also needed as new PrEP products are introduced, to create an enabling environment for parent-child engagement by increasing awareness, countering misconceptions, and reducing stigma.

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Objective: This study examines the association between parental engagement and subsequent delayed marriage of adolescent girls and, secondarily, to assess whether parental engagement is positively associated with girls' involvement in marital decision-making regarding husband selection. Methods: The study used longitudinal survey data from the Understanding the Lives of Adolescents and Young Adults (UDAYA) in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, India. We analysed 6168 unmarried adolescent girls aged 15-19 years at wave 1 (2015-16) who were interviewed in wave 2 (2018-19). Our outcomes were delayed marriage of girls (unmarried vs. married at 20-22 vs. married at 18-19 vs. married at <18) and, among those married at <18 years, girls' involvement in husband selection (alone vs. with parents vs. not involved). Parental discussion around school performance, friendships, menstruation, pregnancy, free time, and personal issues were the exposure variables. We applied unadjusted and adjusted multinomial regression models to assess associations between our exposure variables and each outcome variable. Results: From wave 1 to wave 2, 1551 girls (31.2%) married; 567 girls (12.5%) married as minors (<18 years). We found that parental discussion around school performance (relative risk ratio [RRR]: 1.33), friendship (RRR: 1.37) and personal matters (RRR: 1.29) were positively associated with remaining unmarried relative to early marriage of girls. However, discussion with parents about menstruation was negatively associated with marriage at 20-22 (RRR: 0.67) and remaining unmarried (RRR: 0.80), compared to early marriage. Discussing school performance was negatively associated with marriage at 18-19 (RRR: 0.62) and at 20-22 (RRR: 0.50), relative to early marriage. Discussing personal issues with parents was positively associated with joint parent-girl decision-making regarding husband selection, relative to parents alone selecting the husband (RRR: 1.43). Conclusions: Parental engagement on school performance, friendship, and personal issues in early adolescence may help delay marriage and support marital choice for girls in India.

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This study examines the effect of parental engagement on children's continued learning amid COVID-19-induced school closures in Uganda, where the government's distance learning program had limited coverage. The results show that children from households with more parental engagement are more likely to engage in learning activities at home when primary schools are closed. A significant effect of parental engagement is found in rural areas as well. Furthermore, we found that, in rural areas, the level of parental engagement is significantly more correlated with home-based learning among children from government schools than those from private schools.

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The COVID pandemic disrupted the schooling of students worldwide resulting in many having had a period of at-home learning. Many parents found themselves assuming responsibility for supporting their children's at-home learning. Parents often find it difficult to support their children's mathematics learning compared with other curriculum areas. There has been limited research exploring parental engagement in mathematics education generally, and little into parental engagement in mathematics education during the COVID pandemic. This paper examines how parents supported their child's mathematics education during the school closures and identifies the factors that impacted this engagement. The Ecologies of Parental Engagement (EPE) model was used to help describe the engagement of different parents in mathematics education during the school closures and to examine the way the home space and available capital shaped parental engagement. Eight parents were selected from a larger Australian study that explored the impact of the pandemic-induced period of at-home schooling on primary school mathematics and science. One-on-one narrative interviews were conducted online with participants. Analysis identified three categories of parental engagement: monitors, facilitators, and enhancers. Parents in each category responded to their role in at-home learning differently, and accessed and activated different capital to support their child's at-home learning in mathematics during the pandemic. Results highlight the value of emotional capital, as well as knowledge of mathematics and mathematics education, with implications for schools hoping to engage parents in mathematics learning. The study offers a typology to be explored in future research concerning parental engagement in mathematics education.

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The COVID-19 pandemic brought dramatic changes to society, and many temporary changes, such as lockdowns and school closures, have had lasting effects on education and learning. School closures temporarily moved education to the home, where parents had to take responsibility for their children's education, and technology became an essential tool for supporting learning. This study examines the impact of parental confidence in using technology on parental support for children's education at home during the first COVID-19 lockdowns. Researchers and educational officers from 19 countries conducted an online survey from May to July 2020 and collected data from 4600 parents with children 6-16 years old. Participants were selected via snowball sampling. Data were analyzed quantitatively using simple tabulation, correlation analysis, and multiple linear regression. The results showed a relationship between parental support for children's education at home and parental confidence in using technology in all participating countries except for Pakistan. Furthermore, the data indicated that in almost all participating countries, parental confidence in using technology greatly impacted parental engagement in children's education at home, even after controlling for socioeconomic status. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s43545-023-00672-0.

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A multivariate model was used to study outcomes of childhood bereavement. The model included exogenous factors such as engagement and within-person resilience factors. Sixty-two parent-child dyads were recruited from a local children's grief center and completed measures of engagement in the programming, resilience and grief. A complex model was revealed in which parental engagement in the grief program was related to child engagement and the child's control beliefs which in turn were significantly related to the child's grief symptoms. These variables existed within a system, rather than within an individual.

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For decades, the role of parental engagement in children's schooling has been central to the promotion of learning and wellbeing outcomes for children. However, the recognition of diverse family structures, including where a child's parents are separated, is largely absent from these models of engagement. Instead, prior research has focussed on the impacts of separation and divorce on children's learning, resulting in a dearth of work on separated parents' experiences of engaging with their children's schools. In order to document these parents' experiences, a qualitative survey was deployed. From this investigation, it is clear that diverse family structures, particularly those where parents are separated, are not well accommodated, or even well understood, in the schooling context. In many cases, however, small adjustments on the part of the school can make significant differences in enhancing parents' successful involvement in their children's education.

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BACKGROUND: Prevention efforts focused on parenting can prevent and reduce the rates of child internalizing and externalizing problems, and positive changes in parenting skills have been shown to mediate improvements in child behavioral problems. However, parent skills training programs remain underused, with estimates that under half of eligible parents complete treatment and even lower rates engage in preventive interventions. Moreover, there is no validated measure to assess initial engagement in parent education or skills training, which is an understudied stage of parent engagement. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to test a novel engagement strategy, exploring whether including information pertaining to the neuroscience of child development and parent skills training enhanced parental intent to enroll. In addition, a novel self-report measure, the 18-item Parenting Resources Acceptability Measure (PRAM), was developed and validated. METHODS: In a group of 166 parents of children aged 5 to 12 years, using an engagement strategy based on the Seductive Allure of Neuroscience Explanations, we conducted a web-based experiment to assess whether the inclusion of neuroscience information related to higher levels of engagement via self-report and behavioral measures. The PRAM was subjected to an exploratory factor analysis and examined against relevant validity measures and acceptability measurement criteria. RESULTS: Three PRAM factors emerged ("Acceptability of Parenting Resources," "Interest in Learning Parenting Strategies," and "Acceptability of Parenting Websites"), which explained 68.4% of the total variance. Internal consistency among the factors and the total score ranged from good to excellent. The PRAM was correlated with other relevant measures (Parental Locus of Control, Parenting Sense of Competence, Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, Parent Engagement in Evidence-Based Services, and behavioral outcomes) and demonstrated good criterion validity and responsiveness. Regarding the engagement manipulation, parents who did not receive the neuroscience explanation self-reported lower interest in learning new parenting skills after watching an informational video compared with parents who did receive a neuroscience explanation. However, there were no significant differences between conditions in behavioral measures of intent to enroll, including the number of mouse clicks, amount of time spent on a page of parenting resources, and requests to receive parenting resources. The effects did not persist at the 1-month follow-up, suggesting that the effects on engagement may be time-limited. CONCLUSIONS: The findings provide preliminary evidence for the utility of theory-driven strategies to enhance initial parental engagement in parent skills training, specifically parental interest in learning new parenting skills. In addition, the study findings demonstrate the good initial psychometric properties of the PRAM, a tool to assess parental intent to enroll, which is an early stage of engagement.

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Evidence suggests that parental involvement in children's education has a positive impact on children's educational achievements and wellbeing outcomes. The trend toward 24/7 economies has obliged many mothers to work non-standard schedules (i.e., schedules outside traditional daytime, Monday-Friday work schedules). This has raised concerns over how non-standard work schedules affect parenting behaviors, including paternal involvement in children's education. Using data from mothers of young children (age 5-6) in Hong Kong (N = 433), this study examined the association between maternal work schedules and involvement in children's home and school activities. The results of structural equation modeling found that weekend work was associated with lower levels of home-based involvement. By contrast, working non-standard hours was linked with higher levels of school-based involvement. This pattern suggested that non-standard work schedules could make it either easier or harder for mothers to balance work and family responsibilities, depending on the circumstances (i.e., whether they work non-standard hours or weekends). These findings, indicating that the effects of non-standard work schedules are not uniformly negative or positive, warrant sophisticated policy efforts to address the potential adverse effects of non-standard work schedules and avoid undermining their potential to be used as a family-friendly option.

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This study examines the risk-related factors during the pandemic and protective factors that might reduce its effects on family functioning in a sample of 161 low-income Hispanic parents in the United States, recruited from an ongoing longitudinal intervention study. They were surveyed about family functioning six months into the pandemic. We focused on the associations between social (e.g., exposure to the virus) and economic (e.g., job loss) pandemic-related risks on parental stress, parenting, and children's socioemotional problems and skills, as well as the degree to which coparenting support, parents' positivity, economic support, and access to services and information mitigated (protected) the negative effects of these stressors on family functioning. We found that increases in economic risk were associated with more child competence skills, whereas increases in social risk were associated with less parental engagement. Positivity and economic support moderated the effects of economic risk on parental stress and engagement. These findings show that to intervene effectively with low-income Hispanic families, we need to strengthen and support the resources for coping with adversity.

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The current systematic review examined the similarities and differences between mothers' and fathers' reported barriers and facilitators to engaging in family-based interventions for child and adolescent behavioural problems (aged 2-17 years). Systematic searches of six electronic databases and grey literature alongside a two-way screening process identified twenty eligible qualitative studies from 2004 to 2019. A thematic meta-synthesis identified similarities in major themes of psychological, situational, knowledge/awareness, programme/intervention, co-parenting, practitioner, and beliefs/attitudes factors, alongside group experiences and stages of engagement. However, differences emerged in subthemes related to parental, treatment, and service delivery factors that included individual ideologies of parenting, parental roles, and treatment participation; the role of mothers in facilitating engagement; and individual preferences for treatment content and delivery. Overall, findings suggest that while mothers and fathers experience similar challenges to engagement, they can also experience distinct challenges which need to be addressed at the treatment outset to maximise engagement.

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Parental responsibility is often the focus of research and policy surrounding closing the attainment gap between low-income students and their wealthier peers. This article describes a pilot intervention programme which aimed to enable better parental support of their children with their schoolwork and educational engagement. Through interviews with the parents and facilitators involved with the pilot, this article provides an example of how strength-based interventions can promote parental engagement in education in marginalised groups, such as families considered disadvantaged. The programme consisted of six one-to-one sessions with 25 parents. Semi-structured interviews with five parents and four facilitators revealed that parents reported increased self-efficacy and confidence in supporting their children's education. Key features of the programme contributing to sustainable changes were the programmes person-centred approach and the use of strength-based strategies. The qualitative analysis provides only short-term accounts of behavioral change, but despite these shortcomings the results provide tentative evidence for the efficacy of a brief solution focused programme in supporting low-income parents' engagement. More research is needed using larger sample sizes with longer data collection periods.

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Parental engagement is a common theme of education policy in most countries. In Aotearoa New Zealand, policies frame parental engagement in broad terms giving schools flexibility in enacting them. However, the generality assumes the complex and differentiated activities associated with parental engagement are well understood, leaving schools with little guidance for this work. This article examines the enactment of parental engagement in one New Zealand primary school to understand these activities better and provide a basis for improved policy. It partly draws on Ball et al. (Routledge 10.4324/9780203153185, 2012) policy enactment framework identifying several enactment roles associated with parental engagement, particularly in-school 'narrators' who are pivotal actors in articulating a rationale for engagement. Key findings were that teachers interpreted parental engagement differently, leading to differentiated practice, and parents are identified as important policy actors. The article concludes that there is a strong case for greater clarity in policy on parental engagement.

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In this paper, I propose extending Tateo's systemic cogenetic approach in relation with the dimensions of absence and invisibility. I illustrate my proposition in relation to the phenomenon of school-family-community interaction. I further develop my own theoretical work on how the interaction between school and family is constructed amidst tensions between presence versus absence, as well as visibility versus invisibility. This enables integrating the following dimensions in the systemic cogenetic approach: first, the process of making absence visible, invisible and present; and second, the process of rendering invisible the very process of constructing absence. I also delve into the constructive aspect of absence. I propose extending the systemic cogenetic approach in relation with the following aspects: (a) active absence (Goethe) as a way to make the invisible visible on the edge of the phenomenon; (b) the role of boundary in making visible the invisible; (c) boundary case (Non-Non-A) as a flexible designation (considering a phenomenon as A or non-A); and (d) circular and intransitive movement rendering visible the whole range of phenomena in irreversible time. I use the analysis of parents' and teachers' discourse as illustration of these theoretical propositions.

Neste artigo, proponho uma extensão da abordagem co-genética sistêmica de Tateo no que se refere às dimensões 'ausência' e 'invisibilidade'. Vou ilustrar minhas proposições considerando o fenômeno da interação família-escola-comunidade. Prossigo desenvolvendo minha própria análise, já apresentada anteriormente, de como a interação família-escola é construída em meio a uma tensão tanto entre presença versus ausência como entre visibilidade versus invisibilidade. Isso permite integrar as seguintes dimensões à abordagem co-genética sistêmica: a primeira é o processo de tornar a ausência, visível, invisível e presente; a segunda é o processo de tornar invisível o próprio processo de construir ausência. Mergulho ainda no aspecto construtivo da ausência. Proponho uma extensão da abordagem co-genética sistêmica com relação aos seguintes aspectos: (a) ausência ativa (Goethe) como um modo de tornar o invisível visível na borda [ou na fronteira] do fenômeno; (b) o papel do limite [ou da fronteira] quanto a tornar o invisível visível; o caso da borda (Não-Não-A) como designação flexível (considerando um fenômeno como A ou não-A) e (d) o movimento circular e intransitivo tornando visível toda a amplitude do fenômeno no tempo irreversível. Utilizo a análise do discurso dos pais e dos professores para ilustrar essas proposicões teóricas.

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One of the long-term lessons from the school closures due to the global pandemic COVID 19, is that technology and parental engagement are the best levers to access education so as to bridge the achievement gap between socially disadvantaged children and their peers. However, using technology is not as simple as bringing equipment into the school and home and initiating its usage; these are just the first steps into a more complex and ambitious achievement of using technology as a catalyst for a shift toward new learning models in remote and hybrid settings. A theoretical framework based on the theory of acceptance and use of technology and social cognitive learning theory was used to analyse data from a survey completed by 4,600 parents from 19 countries during the national lockdowns in 2020. Regression models and thematic analysis of open-ended responses were employed to identify factors that contribute to parental acceptance and use of technology in support of their children's learning. Our results show that parents are more engaged in children's learning when well-structured technological tools are provided or suggested by schools, and when parents are socially influenced by the opinions of other parents, teachers, children, the general public, relatives, etc. Conversely, they are less engaged when they perceive the technological tools to be challenging and beyond their knowledge or skills. The study's findings have practical implications for governments and school leaders, who need to be aware of the factors likely to determine the use of technology at home and take action to meet parents' needs when using technology to support learning.

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This paper addresses the research problem of how to reach, engage and support parents in home-educating young children during the first national COVID-19 lockdown in England (March-June 2020), which was addressed through using technology. An internet-mediated research (IMR) approach is used to investigate the effectiveness of using technology and translational research as strategies for disseminating a rapidly produced digital guide, for promoting play-based learning at home, to parents. Lockdown with the closure of early years provision led to parents finding themselves isolated at home with young children. Early years educators were managing a unique set of circumstances where communication with families, including those 'harder-to-reach' was contextually problematic. Qualitative data using IMR captured online interactions by unobtrusive and obtrusive methods; unsolicited emails and social media comments and questionnaire responses. Conventional content analysis identified emerging themes of access, availability, reliability and readability. Analysis showed a combination of factors impacted on the speed and scale of sharing and downloading the digital guide. First, being digitally ready as platforms were already used by early years educators and Local Authorities. Second, the professional drive of Local Authorities and early years educators to support families during the crisis and third, the availability of an easily accessible online resource seen as valuable in improving play-based learning at home.