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Examining whether interventions are effective is important, but also exploring for whom they work. Work with parenting programmes has shown that many of the families accessing programmes are not those who are most in need of support. Disadvantaged families can be ‘hard to reach’ due to lack of engagement and/or difficulties accessing services, but they are more likely to have severe and complex mental health problems. These families tend to have the poorest outcomes and often do not benefit equally from interventions such as parenting programmes as those who are more advantaged. Identifying the families who benefit from interventions is crucial however, research trials are often underpowered and lack the appropriate variation to predict benefits.

At CEBEI, we are involved in a collaborative project which has pooled the data from similar trials across Europe to explore questions about who benefits from a parenting programme. Analyses have examined disadvantaged families, children with severe behaviour problems, comorbid hyperactivity and emotional problems, maternal depression, and child age.