Determinants of need for support in families with young children
| Pages | 21-34 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/17466660200600029 |
| Date | 01 December 2006 |
| Published date | 01 December 2006 |
| Author | Jessica Asscher,Jo Hermanns,Maja Deković |
21
Journal of Children’s Services
Volume 1 Issue 4 December 2006
©Pavilion Journals (Brighton) Ltd
Abstract
The prevalence, correlates (child behaviour problems and negative parenting) and determinants (risk and
protective factors) of parental need for support were examined in a community sample of 177 mothers
with a child aged 1.5–3.5 years, in order to draw a profile of families that need parenting support. A
substantial number of the mothers reported needing support (40% reported need for information, 10%
reported family and social support needs). This need was related to child behaviour problems and to
negativeparenting. Maternal depression, difficult temperament of the child and negative life events, as
well as total number of risk factors, significantly predicted the need for support. Satisfaction with support
(but not number of support sources) acted as a protective factor.
Key words
parental need for support; young children; early years; early intervention programmes
1Utrecht University
2University of
Amsterdam
Introduction
The increasing awareness of the importance of the
first five years of life for further development has
resulted in the development of numerous early
intervention programmes (Campbell et al,1994;
Repetti, Taylor & Seeman, 2002; Stormshak et al,
2000). The aim of many early intervention
programmes is increasing the well-being and
preventing family dysfunctioning in families at risk of
poor child developmental or behavioural outcomes
(MacLeod & Nelson, 2000). One category of early
intervention programmes – parenting support
programmes – aims to stimulate family functioning by
supporting parents and, as a consequence, to prevent
the development of child problem behaviour (Barnes,
2003; Fonagy, 1998).
One of the major problems that parenting support
programmes face is that they do not reach all the
families that need support (Barton et al,2002). It is a
common phenomenon in early intervention
programmes that those parents with children at
greater risk are less likely to participate (Huber,
Holditch-Davis & Brandon, 1993; Prinz & Miller, 1994).
So far, most support has been given to those families
that happen to knowabout the available services or
that belong to particular target groups with special
needs (eg. Llewellyn, McConnell & Bye, 1998).
However, all families can be confronted with risks,
and parenting can be stressful for many parents,
especially for those with a child of toddler-age
(Feldman et al,2002; Östberg & Hagekull, 2000). It is
therefore remarkable that the support needs of
families with such children have hardly been studied.
One exception is Häggman-Latila’s (2003) study, in
which the early support needs of Finnish families
participating in the ‘Families with small children
project’ were examined. She concluded that families
with small children have many needs for which they
seek help when there are available services
supplementing the existing public services.
Need for supportin a community sample
Very little is known about the degree to which parents
report need for support, or about its correlates and
determinants, despite the fact that such information
can be extremely valuable for the services that provide
parenting support. The first aim of the current study
was therefore to assess the need for support in a
community sample. The focus is on parents with a
Determinants of need for support
in families with young children
Jessica J Asscher1,Jo MA Hermanns2and Maja Dekovi´c1
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