Peer-reviewed article
Adaptation of a Trauma-Focused Parenting Intervention for Military-Connected Mothers and Their Young Children: A Rapid Qualitative Study.
Kathrine S Sullivan, Gina M Angelotti, Seonyeong Kim, Whitney K Wortham, Fan Zhang et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study describes the adaptation of a trauma-focused parenting intervention called Parenting-STAIR for military-connected mothers and their young children. Researchers interviewed administrators, clinicians, and military mothers to understand what changes would make the intervention more suitable for military families. The adapted intervention, called P-STAIR-M, was shortened from 23 sessions to 12-16 sessions, made more flexible, used less stigmatizing language, and included cultural elements relevant to military families.
Key points
- Military-connected mothers face greater trauma exposure than civilian mothers, which can negatively affect their mental health, parenting, and their children's wellbeing
- Four key themes emerged from stakeholder interviews: streamlined treatment, flexibility, stigma reduction, and military cultural relevance
- P-STAIR was adapted by shortening it from 23 to 12-16 sessions and making it modular and personalizable to individual needs
- The adapted intervention uses approachable language (e.g., 'distress' rather than 'trauma') to reduce stigma and improve engagement
- A standalone clinician guide was developed to help providers understand the unique experiences of military families
Limitations
This is a qualitative adaptation study that describes the process of modifying an intervention based on stakeholder input; it does not evaluate whether P-STAIR-M actually improves outcomes for military mothers and children. No outcome data or implementation results are reported.
Abstract
Adapting evidence-based interventions (EBIs) to be sensitive to populations who have experienced trauma has been shown to improve engagement, retention, satisfaction, and effectiveness. Compared to civilian mothers, military-connected mothers (MCM)-including service members, veterans, or their partners-face greater exposure to trauma across the life course, leading to mental health and parenting challenges. These may adversely affect their children's mental health and perpetuate generational trauma. EBIs aligned with people's life experiences and cultural backgrounds are critical to supporting the mental wellbeing and parental functioning of MCM. Informed by the Framework for Reporting Adaptations and Modifications-Enhanced and utilizing rapid qualitative analysis-a rigorous method for quickly identifying key interview themes-this paper describes the process of adapting an innovative EBI, Parenting-STAIR (P-STAIR), which targets maternal trauma, emotion regulation, and parenting. Transcripts from interviews with administrators, clinicians, and MCM at clinics serving military families were systematically summarized, organized into matrices, and analyzed. Four emergent themes informed adaptations to P-STAIR: (a) streamlined treatment and enhanced engagement, (b) flexibility and responsiveness, (c) mental health stigma reduction, and (d) military cultural relevance. Considering these priorities, which were expressed across participant groups, P-STAIR was shortened from 23 sessions to a brief, modular 12-16-session intervention that can be personalized to individual needs and uses approachable language (e.g., distress vs. trauma), which aims to reduce the impact of stigma on engagement and retention. A standalone guide was developed to accompany the intervention manual, which may help clinicians better understand the unique experiences of military families. The outcome of this process, PSTAIR-M, is a briefer, modular intervention we anticipate will be suitable for delivery to MCM.