The Effectiveness and Underlying Mechanisms of Parent Management Training and Mindful Parenting Program

Project Objective: Parent management training (PMT), which focuses on teaching parents about effective discipline technique using a behavioral approach, has strong evidence base for promoting parent-child relationship, and reducing parental stress and children behavioural problem. Many PMTs, such as the Incredible Years and Triple P program, have been rated as well-established interventions for behavior problems in children. In recent years, the application of mindfulness in the parenting context is emerging. Parental mindfulness was found to have positive effects on parent-child relationship quality and parenting stress. In particular, preliminary evidence of the eight-week mindfulness based intervention for parents, the Mindful Parenting (MP) program was found to reduce parental stress, and to decrease externalizing and internalizing problems in children. The two lines of parenting intervention have different theoretical background but they yield similar positive effect in parents and children. The current study has the following objectives: 1. To explore the similarities and differences of PMT and MP in terms treatment outcome. Outcome measures include parenting knowledge, parent's mindful awareness, parents' emotional competence, positive and negative parenting practice, parental stress,parent-child relationship, and parents' mental health, including parental stress, parents' sense of competence, as well as child behavioural problem 2. To explore the underlying mechanisms for the effectiveness of PMT and MP, including their similarities and differences, and 3. To examine for whom are PMT and MP more effective. Hypotheses In terms of treatment outcome, it is hypothesized that: H1a) When compared to the waitlist control group, both PMT and MP programmes are similarly effective in reducing negative parenting behaviours and behavioural problems in children, promoting positive parenting behaviours, and enhancing parent-child relationship and parents' mental he