Research and analysis

Summary: Reducing Parental Conflict programme 2018 to 2022: an evaluation of the effects of interventions on parental relationships and children

Updated 14 February 2024

Authors: William Brewin and Matthew Garlick (Department for Work and Pensions)

Background

International evidence shows that when parents are entrenched in conflict that is frequent, intense, and poorly resolved, it is likely to have a negative impact on themselves and their children. Prior to the 2018 to 2022 Reducing Parental Conflict programme, relatively few relationship and parenting interventions had been tested in the UK. Therefore, very little was known about the type of interventions that would work to reduce parental conflict and improve the mental health and wellbeing of children in workless and disadvantaged families.

To begin addressing this evidence gap, up to £50 million was allocated to the Reducing Parental Conflict (RPC) programme between 2018 and 2022. Part of the programme involved testing seven interventions across 31 upper tier local authorities in four geographical areas (Contract Package Areas) to build the evidence on what works to help families in conflict.

The 2018 to 2022 RPC programme was supported by three strands of evaluation:

• a commissioned evaluation conducted by DWP research partners, IFF Research,
• an innovative qualitative study which used diaries to follow parents as they participated in RPC interventions
• and this report, an in-depth quantitative study, run between 2019 and 2022, to evaluate the efficacy of these interventions in improving interparental relationships and children’s wellbein

Between 2019 and 2022, 6,110 parents (in 3,814 families) were referred to an intervention; 4,802 parents (in 2,995 families) started an intervention; and 2,694 parents (in 1,685 families) completed an intervention. 878 parents responded to a survey conducted 6 months after they completed an intervention, 374 of whom responded to a second survey conducted 12 months after completion. The analysis reflected in this report is based on the responses of these parents, bringing both parents responses together, wherever possible.

Data was collected from participating parents about different aspects of their relationship with the other parent and the wellbeing of their children. Data was collected at four key stages: once before intervention and up to three times after completion of an intervention (immediately after completion, 6 months after completion, and finally, 12 months after completion).

The evaluation involved comparing different measures of the interparental relationship and child mental health/wellbeing to estimate the changes observed post intervention. A non-experimental, before-and-after study design was used, meaning there was no control group with which to estimate the counterfactual (the changes that would have occurred regardless of intervention).

Headline findings

On average, participating parents who are together (intact), experienced statistically significant improvements in their relationship with the other parent after they completed one of the tested interventions. The table below show the effect sizes for intact parents immediately after completing an intervention^{[footnote 1]}:

Table 1: Effect sizes for each relationship measure (intact parents)

Relationship measure	Cohen’s d
Relationship warmth	0.70
Hostility	0.69
Relationship satisfaction	0.73
Overt hostility	0.77

On average, separated parents who participated experienced statistically significant improvements in their relationship with the other parent after they completed one of the tested interventions. The table below shows the effect sizes for separated parents immediately after completing an intervention:

Table 2: Effect sizes for each relationship measure (separated parents)

Relationship measure	Cohen’s d
Conflict when communicating	0.71
Frequency of conflict	0.74
Breadth of conflict	0.63
Co-parenting support	0.22
Satisfaction with custody arrangements	0.23

Furthermore, participating parents with a child aged 2 to 17 years old at the point of referral reported on average that these children showed statistically significant improvements in their mental health and wellbeing after their parent(s) completed an intervention. The table below show the effect sizes for children aged 5 to 17 years old, 6 months after completing an intervention:

Table 3: Effect sizes for each SDQ measure (5 to 17-year-olds)

Child wellbeing measure	Cohen’s d
Emotional problems	0.50
Conduct problems	0.37
Hyperactivity	0.22
Peer problems	0.23
Prosocial behaviour	0.17
Total difficulties	0.48

Where it was possible to estimate (i.e., where post intervention sample sizes were sufficient), there was no evidence that interparental relationships or child mental health regressed towards pre-intervention levels in the 12 months after completing an intervention.

Intervention level findings

• Families that completed high intensity interventions, which are more expensive, showed slightly greater improvements in both interparental relationships and child wellbeing / mental health than families that completed moderate intensity interventions
• Sample sizes were sufficient to support intervention level analyses for six of the seven interventions tested; all six interventions showed significant improvements in both interparental relationships and child mental health. On average, parents who completed Mentalization Based Therapy (MBT) experienced greater improvements in interparental relationships and the mental health of their children, compared to parents who completed other interventions. However, at the time of the test, MBT was considered to be the most expensive intervention, and it was not possible to adjust the effect sizes in this report for the cost of interventions

Subgroup findings

• Where both parents participated, greater improvements were demonstrated in interparental relationships and child mental health, though parents participating alone (without the cooperation of the other parent) still showed statistically significant improvements in interparental relationships and child mental health
• Working families experienced slightly better outcomes than families where at least one parent was workless; both workless and working families showed significant improvements (of a similar magnitude) in interparental relationships, but working families saw greater improvements in child mental health
• Sample sizes were not sufficient to facilitate comparative analyses between specific ethnic groups. However, when analysing minority ethnic and non-minority ethnic families, both showed significant improvements in interparental relationships and child mental health after completing an intervention

Contribution to the evidence base

The evidence presented in this report substantively adds to the emerging international evidence base in this area. Recent research conducted in the UK and internationally suggests that supporting parents at the level of the inter-parental relationship (whether parents are living together or not living together) improves multiple areas of inter-parental relationship quality which in turn improves mental health and wellbeing outcomes for children and adolescents. Supporting parents at the level of the inter-parental relationship also reduces poor adult mental health outcomes, reduces substance misuse and related problems, and reduces the inter-generational transmission of interpersonal violence, substantively reducing long term negative outcomes and associated costs.

Using a mixed-methods approach (quantitative and qualitative programme components), the 3 reports that evaluated the 2018 to 2022 RPC programme have been acknowledged as internationally leading; the programme is a stand-out example of evidence-led policy-making supported by a comprehensive, ongoing programme of evaluation research.

1. Cohen’s d is used to measure the effect sizes after completing an intervention, so that it is possible to compare the effect sizes across each subscale and intervention. 0.2, 0.5, and greater than 0.8 represent small, medium, and large effect sizes respectively. ↩