Behavioural and emotional problems in children have been linked with a number of deleterious effects for the child, their family and the community at large. Research has demonstrated that targeting parents through behavioural family interventions is an effective way of ameliorating the negative long term effects of early behaviour problems. A number of evidence-based interventions have been shown to be effective in reducing dysfunctional parenting practices and reducing the severity and intensity of behaviour problems however less than 10% of parents’ access parenting services and even fewer access evidence-based interventions. Some researchers now advocate that a population approach that emphasizes prevention rather than treatment and considers parenting in its broader ecological context is required to increase parental access to evidence-based parenting interventions and reduce population levels of disruptive behaviour problems. One important context that affects parenting is the workplace. Changing economic and demographic climates mean the majority of parents are now employed and must balance the competing demands of work and family commitments leading to increased levels of work and family conflict as functioning in one domain invariably effects functioning in the other. High levels of work and family conflict have been shown to increase psychological distress and dysfunctional parenting and are associated with a range of negative organisational outcomes such as increased turnover and absenteeism. Additionally, levels of work and family conflict are highest in parents of young children indicating that balancing work and parenting is particularly difficult at a point in a child’s life where there is greatest development plasticity. This thesis argues that one way to improve parents’ access to services and to reduce work and family conflict is to provide support to working parents in the form of a workplace parenting intervention. Such an intervention has the potential to ease the burden on working parents, increase parental access to evidence-based parenting support and reduce population levels of disruptive behaviour problems. This research comprises of a randomised controlled trial of Workplace Triple P, a variant of Triple P- Positive Parenting Program that is tailored to the specific needs of working parents. Two studies are presented. Study 1 examined the utility of a model that posits that the relationship between parental exposure to disruptive behaviour problems and occupational stress is mediated by family-work conflict. Data analyses supported the hypothesised model. The relationship between parental exposure to disruptive behaviour problems and occupational stress was fully mediated by family-work conflict. The results of this study provide a rationale for examining parenting in a workplace context by demonstrating that disruptive behaviour problems in the children of employees are related to higher levels of occupational stress and that reducing disruptive behaviour and family-work conflict should result in reductions in occupational stress. Study 2 built on the findings of Study 1 by evaluating the effectiveness of Workplace Triple P, a workplace parenting intervention that aims to assist parents to more effectively manage work and family demands. Using a sample of teachers balancing work and parenting commitments, a randomised controlled trial was conducted comparing Workplace Triple P to a waitlist control condition. Results indicated that participants who completed the Workplace Triple P intervention reported improvements in five key outcome areas: disruptive behaviour problems, parenting style and satisfaction, personal adjustment, work and family conflict and occupational wellbeing. Specifically, compared with participants in the waitlist control condition participants in the intervention condition reported that their child displayed lower numbers of disruptive behaviours and engaged in problem behaviour less frequently, that they themselves engaged less in verbose, over-reactive and lax parenting styles, that they felt more confident in dealing with a range of behaviour problems across a range of home and community settings and enjoyed parenting more. Participants in the intervention condition also reported lower levels of personal anxiety and depression. The intervention was also effective at improving work-related variables. Participants who completed the Workplace Triple P intervention reported lower levels of work-family conflict, family-work conflict and occupational stress, as well as reporting increased levels of occupational efficacy. No changes were reported for participants in the waitlist control condition. Participants in the intervention condition were reassessed at 4-months post intervention. Results indicated that all intervention gains were maintained. Together these studies contribute significantly to our understanding of work-family interface by providing insight into the mechanisms by which family life exerts an influence on occupational stress and by demonstrating that a workplace parenting intervention has the potential to improve functioning both family and occupational domains. The findings have significant implications for assisting parents more effectively manage work and family demands, for increasing parental access to services, and informing family-friendly policies and practices. Research, clinical and policy implications are discussed.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/254129 |
| Creators | Divna Haslam |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Detected Language | English |
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