Structured parenting programmes reliably reduced child behaviour problems
A meta-analysis of 101 studies of a multi-level parenting support system
Reviewed by Sian Trombley, CCCFounder, Thrive Family Company
Strong confidence
Source citation
Sanders M. R., Kirby J. N., Tellegen C. L., Day J. J. (2014). The Triple P-Positive Parenting Program: A systematic review and meta-analysis of a multi-level system of parenting support. Clinical Psychology Review. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2014.04.003
Published 1 January 2014 · Added to Thrive 26 July 2026 · Reviewed 26 July 2026
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Parenting programmes are often dismissed as common sense in a workbook. Pooled across a hundred studies, the effects are real.
Published research findings
The study
Sanders and colleagues pooled 101 studies of the Triple P system, spanning brief seminars to intensive individual work.
What researchers examined
Effects on child behaviour, parenting practices, parental wellbeing and the parental relationship.
What they found
Significant improvements appeared across child behaviour, parenting practices and parent wellbeing, with larger effects for more intensive levels and for families starting with greater difficulty.
Thrive editorial interpretation
What this may mean for families
Programme intensity should be matched to need. Many families do well with brief, targeted support.
What this doesn't tell us
Important limitations
Several studies were conducted by developers, which meta-analytic critics have flagged as a source of inflation.
Evidence confidence describes how much weight this study's design can carry — not how strongly the finding applies to any individual child or family.
Therapist perspective — Thrive interpretation, not a finding of the study
Therapist Perspective
The active ingredients are consistency, warmth and predictable follow-through — whatever the brand name on the folder.
Practical family considerations
Match the level of help to the size of the difficulty.
This research summary is educational and does not replace individualized medical, psychological or therapeutic advice.
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What actually makes a parenting programme work: practice, consistency and emotional communication
2008 · Meta-analysis
Moderate confidence
Why it matters
Reading about a strategy is not the intervention. Rehearsing it, ideally in the real relationship, is what moves the numbers.