Peer-reviewed article
Is it Time to Rethink a Common Approach in the Study of Parent Participation in Parenting Interventions? (Null) Findings from a Large-Scale Cluster Randomised Trial.
Ma T, Morawska A, Morse C, Hodges J, Boyle C et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined what predicts whether parents participate in a parenting program delivered through Australian primary schools. Researchers analyzed data from over 2,200 parents in a large trial of the Triple P parenting program, looking at 13 different measures of participation including registration, attendance, and time spent in sessions. They tested 468 different combinations of family and child characteristics as potential predictors, but found that almost none of these factors were actually useful in explaining which parents would participate.
Key points
- Only one predictor remained statistically significant after adjusting for multiple comparisons across 468 analyses
- Models explained only 0.5%-10.3% of the variance in parental participation
- Child and family demographics, child mental health, parenting functioning, and home-school partnership quality generally showed small associations with participation
- Secondary analyses of clinical trial data may have limited utility for understanding parent participation predictors
- The authors recommend prioritizing theory-driven research and methodological innovations rather than data-driven searches for individual predictors
Limitations
This study only analyzed data from one parenting program in Australia, so findings may not generalize to other programs or countries. The study identifies that current approaches to predicting parent participation are ineffective but does not provide answers about what actually drives participation.
Abstract
The real-world impact of evidence-based parenting programs depends on their ability to engage parents and families. Yet, knowledge about the facilitators and barriers of participation remains limited. A common approach to study parent participation is conducting secondary analyses of clinical trial data, which often yield mixed and inconclusive results. The present study represents one of the largest studies undertaking the secondary analyses approach while addressing key methodological constraints identified in previous research (e.g. low power, narrow sets of predictors). We utilised data collected as part of a cluster randomised trial of a telehealth-delivered Triple P - Positive Parenting Program Seminar Series in Australian primary schools (N = 2272 parents) to assess parent participation. Thirteen participation outcomes were assessed across three domains: registration, seminar attendance, and time spent in sessions. Candidate predictors included child and family demographics, child mental health, parenting and family functioning, and home-school partnership quality. Across 468 exploratory analyses, associations between predictors and participation outcomes were generally small in magnitude, with models explaining only 0.5%-10.3% of the variance in parental participation. After adjustment for multiple comparisons, only one predictor remained statistically significant. These findings highlight the potential limited utility of relying on exploratory secondary analyses of clinical trial data to understand parent participation in parenting programs. Rather than continuing to expand data-driven searches for individual predictors, the field should prioritise theory-driven research and methodological innovations, such as embedding participation experiments within intervention trials.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- Triple P - Positive Parenting Program Seminar Series delivered via telehealth in primary schools
- Population
- 2,272 parents from Australian primary schools
Key finding
After adjustment for multiple comparisons, only one predictor out of 468 exploratory analyses remained statistically significant
T et al. · Europe PMC · 8 Oct 2026