A Randomized Controlled Trial of the Efficacy of the Lighthouse Parenting Programme in Addressing Parenting Difficulties in China

A Randomized Controlled Trial of the Efficacy of the Lighthouse Parenting Effectiveness Enhancement Programme in Addressing Parenting Difficulties

The study will be conducted in three phases: assessments, group intervention and individual intervention. All participants will engage in the full program over a period of five weeks, divided into ten sessions. The 5 group interventions will occur once a week for 1.5 hours. During this time, the psychotherapist will disseminate psychological knowledge and skills pertinent to parenting, after which the group members will engage in practice exercises and discourse. Subsequently, one individual session will be conducted each week for one hour. The test group (Group A) will be assessed once at recruitment and after the last individual session. The control group (Group B) will undergo the same intervention as the test group after the test group completes the intervention and posttest, and will be assessed one additional time for pre-intervention status.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Parents with children aged 2-14 years who exhibited parenting that were identified as being problematic (Parenting Stress Indicator PSI ≥ 86 (critical high level)).

Exclusion Criteria:

• Parents in the family with either parent and child who have a serious medical condition (e.g., cancer, heart disease, etc.), an acute psychotic episode, or difficulty engaging in group interventions may be excluded from participation.