Parental Support: Effects of a Mass-Media Intervention

Although face-to-face parental support programs have been shown to improve parents' knowledge, attitudes and behaviour, such interventions are relatively costly to administer. This article reports the findings of a quasi-experimental evaluation of a relatively less costly, mass-media interventi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Canadian journal of public health 1995-03, Vol.86 (2), p.128-132
Main Authors: Kishchuk, Natalie, Laurendeau, Marie-Claire, Desjardins, Nicole, Perreault, Robert
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Biological and medical sciences
Child care
Child Development
Child rearing
Child, Preschool
Children
Couple and family
Fathers
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Health education
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
Humans
Male
Mothers
Parenting
Parents
Parents & parenting
Parents - education
Parents - psychology
Periodicals as Topic
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Quebec
Readership
Social psychology
Social Support
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Summary:Although face-to-face parental support programs have been shown to improve parents' knowledge, attitudes and behaviour, such interventions are relatively costly to administer. This article reports the findings of a quasi-experimental evaluation of a relatively less costly, mass-media intervention: an age-paced newsletter for new parents. Readership and effectiveness of the newsletter were assessed after three years of distribution. Evaluation participants were 453 randomly selected fathers and mothers of threeyear-olds, of which 193 were newsletter recipients and 260 were nonrecipients. Results showed that readership and satisfaction were high. Modest effects were found among mothers in the experimental group on knowledge and perception of existing community resources. Experimental mothers also tended to display greater knowledge of child development. No significant effects of the newsletter were found for fathers. The discussion centres on the potential for this type of intervention strategy to optimize existing investment in public family support programs. Cet article rapporte les résultats d'une évaluation réalisée au terme de trois années de distribution d'un bulletin périodique adapté à l'âge de l'enfant et distribué aux parents dès la naissance. L'étude portait sur l'appréciation et les effets de l'intervention après trois ans. Les participants étaient 453 pères et mères d'enfants de trois ans, 193 qui ont reçu le bulletin et 260 qui formaient un groupe de comparaison. Les résultats indiquent que le bulletin avait une très grande pénétration auprès des familles et de leur réseau proche au terme des trois années de distribution. De plus, les mères du groupe expérimental connaissent mieux les ressources de soutien aux familles et ont des attitudes plus positives à l'égard de ces ressources que les mères du groupe de comparaison. Elles tendent également à afficher une meilleure connaissance du développement de l'enfant. La discussion porte sur les implications de cette étude pour la recherche, de même que sur l'intérêt de diffuser l'intervention à plus large échelle.
ISSN:0008-4263
1920-7476