Initial transfer of Project Support from the US to Sweden : Feasibility and clinical aspects as viewed by counsellors and parents

Sammanfattning: Project Support (PS) is a parenting programme developed and studied in the US for parents and children exposed to intimate partner violence (IPV) and for these children with subsequent behavioural problems. By examining feasibility aspects and using qualitative and quantitative methods, the study aimed to explore the transferability of PS to a new naturalistic context, i.e., Swedish social services. In the qualitative Study I, IPV-exposed mothers and counsellors who received/conducted PS were interviewed about their experiences. Study II explored whether the effects of PS in the US, i.e., reduced children’s psychological symptoms and improved parenting capacity among parents and children exposed to IPV, could be replicated in Sweden. Study III explored group and individual impacts of PS on parents regarding aspects of IPV, global psychiatric symptoms, and post-traumatic stress symptoms. Study IV is a qualitative follow-up study where counsellors were interviewed about how the PS work was or was not continued. The results indicate cultural differences between the US and Sweden in practising parenting skills though role-playing and in how to address and understand child misbehaviour, necessitating adaptation to Swedish values and norms. Results further indicate that PS is a promising intervention for Swedish IPV-exposed parents and their children with behavioural problems, leading to improved parental capacity and decreased child behavioural problems, supporting prior research in an American context. PS generally seems to improve parents’ psychiatric symptoms, but examining each individual revealed that most parents still had dysfunctional levels of symptoms post treatment. Maintenance and use of PS was inconsistent, due to lack of organisational support. The study indicates that PS can be further implemented and evaluated in Sweden, and stresses the importance of conducting feasibility studies when an intervention is to be transferred to a new context.