The large-scale randomised controlled trial, published this month in The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, was conducted in the United States with hundreds of families whose children met clinical criteria for significant disruptive behaviour problems, which if untreated can spiral into more serious problems in adolescence.

Evidence-based parenting interventions are an effective treatment, and digital delivery can reach parents who just can’t attend face-to-face sessions for various reasons, such as scheduling, transport, and childcare.

The trial randomly allocated some participants to in-person delivery of Standard Triple P and others to Triple P Online, and found that 12 months after completion, both groups showed comparable improvements in areas such as child behaviour, parent-child relationships, and teacher-reported oppositional behaviour to adults and peers.

While there were some minor differences in post-intervention and 12-month-follow-up results, the overall findings indicate that Triple P Online is not inferior to in-person delivery of Standard Triple P.

A total of 334 families of children aged 3-7 years volunteered to take part because they were having difficulty managing children’s behaviour, and were assessed using a number of standard psychological tests such as the Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory (ECBI) and the Child and Adolescent Disruptive Behavior Inventory (CADBI), which evaluates reports from teachers.

Queensland parents and carers can do free Triple P Online: www.triplep-parenting.net