Stay Positive - Creating a Population Based Parenting Communications Campaign

Background: Triple P - Positive Parenting Program is an evidence-based parenting system founded on more than 30 years of clinical research.  It offers evidence-based principles and advice that are effective for many parents.  Triple P packages a complex body of parenting knowledge into simply expressed, compact parcels of information that almost all parents can understand and use with rapid and encouraging results. Triple P is increasingly implemented as a population-based parenting intervention by governments throughout the world. Triple P helps prevent or reduce behavior and emotional problems in children. Triple P helps parents create a stable, supportive, harmonious family environment; teach their children the skills they need to get along with others; deal positively, consistently and decisively with problem behavior; encourage behavior they like; develop realistic expectations of their children and themselves and take care of themselves as parents. Triple P is an efficient means of reducing the costs (to communities) that are associated with conduct problems. Triple P works across cultures and socio-economic backgrounds.

Program background: One of the greatest strengths of Triple P is its ability to cater to every parent, regardless personal or family circumstances.  One of the greatest challenges is ensuring parents know how to reach out for that help.  That's why the Stay Positive Communication strategy has been created.  Stay Positive ensures every parent knows about, understands and can easily find the Triple P help they need.  Parenting programs can sometimes be seen as an admission of failure.  Stay Positive actively works to change that perception by raising awareness that all parents may have problems at some time and by destigmatizing the notion of asking for parenting help.  Stay Positive is a phased population-based communications strategy implemented by regional organizations / government bodies / NGOs / agencies. 

Evaluation Methods and Results: Stay Positive has been independently evaluated by the Trimbos Institute in the Netherlands. Questionnaires were administered to 1922 parents from Amsterdam, at 4 moments in time, one or more times. This was done by telephone, online or face to face.  A new group was interviewed at the second, third and last measurement because asking about a campaign can influence the interviewees perception of the campaign. Therefore, in total 2844 interviews were held with 1922 parents.  Key finding include that the campaign "stood out", was "credible" and "appealing".  Some more clarity is needed around the measurement of "clear" which could be attributed to the research occurring in early campaign phases.

Conclusions:It can be concluded that the campaign is capable of normalizing seeking parenting advice. According to the parents, the campaign has contributed to normalizing looking for parenting information, seeking parenting advice and asking for help with parenting.

Implications for research and/or practice:  It has never before been proved that a parenting campaign is capable of achieving this.  The question that remains is whether parents sign up for a parenting intervention as a result of the campaign. More research is needed to evaluate this.