Replicability of Effect when Transferring a Supportive Programme for Parents Exposed to Intimate Partner Violence and Their Children from the US to Sweden

Abstract

Transferring an evidence-based parenting programme for parents exposed to intimate partner violence (IPV) and their children with emotional and behavioural problems reveals the extent to which cultural and social aspects can interfere with the programme’s effectiveness. Feasibility studies are of value in such circumstances, and the aim of the present feasibility study was to explore, on a small scale and in its natural context, whether the effects of the parenting programme, Project Support, were replicable when transferred to another country. In this study, the programme, which was originally designed for parents exposed to IPV and their children who had developed psychological symptoms in the United States, was evaluated in an equivalent population receiving Swedish social services. Parents (n = 35) self-assessed their parenting capacity and their children’s (n = 35) psychological symptoms. The results indicate that the parents improved their parenting capacity, and feelings of helplessness and fear regarding parenting their children decreased. Those feelings were also associated with the children’s psychological symptoms. The promising results are similar to the findings of previous research from the US, and further implementation and evaluation of Project Support in Sweden are indicated.