Date of Award
Spring 6-12-2026
Document Type
Doctoral Research Paper
Degree Name
Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology
Organizational Unit
Graduate School of Professional Psychology
First Advisor
Kelly L. Elliott
Second Advisor
Alec Baker
Third Advisor
Tracy M. Vozar
Copyright Statement / License for Reuse
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Keywords
Parental preparedness, Parenting stress, Parental self-efficacy, Psychoeducation, Online intervention, Early childhood, Preventive mental health
Abstract
Parental preparedness plays a critical role in parental wellbeing, relationship functioning, and early child development; however, many parents report feeling unprepared for the emotional, relational, and developmental demands of parenthood. Although psychoeducational parenting programs have demonstrated positive effects on parental mental health and child outcomes, access to comprehensive and time-efficient interventions remains limited. This pilot program evaluation assessed the feasibility and preliminary outcomes of a brief, online psychoeducational parenting program designed to reduce parenting stress and enhance parental self-efficacy. A quasi-experimental pre–post design was used to examine changes in parenting stress and parental self-efficacy following participation in a single 120-minute synchronous online workshop. Participants included adults aged 18 years or older who were expectant parents or caregivers of children aged 0-5 years. Measures included the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form (PSI-SF) and the Brief Parental Self-Efficacy Scale (BPSES). Although statistical significance was not achieved, results demonstrated trends toward decreased parenting stress and increased perceived parental self-efficacy following program participation. Participants reported high satisfaction with the intervention, particularly valuing content related to parental mental health, relational dynamics, adversity, and the mind-body changes associated with parenthood. Findings suggest that brief, accessible psychoeducational parenting programs are feasible, acceptable, and of interest to caregivers looking to strengthen parental preparedness and family wellbeing. While limited by a small sample size, attrition, and the absence of a control group, this pilot program evaluation supports continued development and rigorous evaluation of short-term, inclusive parenting interventions as a preventative mental health strategy.
Copyright Date
4-20-2026
Publication Statement
Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
Rights Holder
Olivia Adams
Provenance
Received from Author
File Format
application/pdf
Language
English (eng)
Extent
28 pgs
File Size
199 KB
Recommended Citation
Adams, Olivia, "Heroes at Home: Developing and Evaluating a Comprehensive Parenting Program for Expectant Parents and Parents of Young Children" (2026). Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects. 583.
https://digitalcommons.du.edu/capstone_masters/583