Keeping It Going: Evidence of Long-Term Improvements After Implementation of the 1-2-3 Magic Parenting Program

Abstract

This study builds upon a pilot evaluation of the 1-2-3 Magic Program (Bailey, van der Zwan, Phelan, & Brooks, 2012), by investigating its long-term efficacy as a brief parenting intervention for families with a school-aged child. Twelve Australian families participated in a randomized controlled trial, assigned either to a wait-listed control group or to one that received immediate training. Consistent with the pilot evaluation, only families who had received training reported significant improvement in child and parenting behavior at an 8-week follow-up assessment. These improvements were maintained for 12-month posttraining, supporting the long-term efficacy of the 1-2-3 Magic Program for Australian families.

KEYWORDS:

• brief parenting programs
• child outcomes
• long-term efficacy
• parent outcomes
• parent training
• supported delivery

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors would like to acknowledge the contribution of Parentshop Pty Ltd. to discussions about parent training programs of various types and to training of EB in the administration of the Three Choice program. This study is based on resources from Thomas W. Phelan, PhD., creator of the 1-2-3 Magic Program. That is not to be confused with the 1-2-3 Magic and Emotion Coaching Programme, created by Michael Hawton. These two programs are different in their approach.

Notes

Note that for the purpose of this research a “parent” is defined as any individual who cares for a child. This term, therefore, is applied not only to the child's biological parents (i.e., mother or father) but to step-parents, grandparents, or foster carers.

Comparisons of the baseline and 2-month follow-up (second preintervention assessment for this group) data from the delayed intervention group indicated no significant changes. A decision to use the latter data set was then taken because the amount of time between baseline and subsequent follow-up assessments was identical to that of the immediate intervention group.