Guidance

Reducing Parental Conflict programme evaluation: phase one reports

Evaluation of the Reducing Parental Conflict programme (RPC) from phase one, 2018 to 2022.

Reports

These reports provide a comprehensive source of evidence on RPC interventions for local authorities, practitioners, policymakers, and academics.

Reducing Parental Conflict programme 2018 to 2022: an evaluation of the effects of interventions

Read Report 1: an evaluation of the effects of specialist interventions on parental relationships and children.

Reducing Parental Conflict programme 2018 to 2022: final evaluation report

Read Report 2: final evaluation report from our research contractor.

Reducing Parental Conflict programme 2018 to 2022: diary research with parents accessing interventions

Read Report 3: diary research with parents accessing interventions.

Research background

Seven different RPC interventions were tested between 2018 to 2022 to explore whether they reduced parental conflict and improved the mental health of the children in participating families. The evaluation design aligned with the 3 main strands of the programme:

  • integration of parental conflict focused practice and services into local area family services across England
  • training for frontline family practitioners and other professionals who come into regular contact with families, to help them identify parental conflict and in some cases to deliver support to help reduce it
  • interventions for parents in conflict, commissioned centrally by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to find out which interventions work best to improve interparental relationships and child outcomes

These reports include:

  • a quantitative evaluation of the effects of specialist interventions on parental relationships and children
  • a final evaluation report from DWPs research contractor for this programme
  • innovative diary research containing experiences of parents accessing RPC interventions

These reports provide a comprehensive source of evidence on RPC interventions for local authorities, practitioners, policymakers, and academics.

Research value

This research substantively adds to the UK specific evidence base on types of support that improve interparental relationships, parenting and child outcomes.

Updates to this page

Published 24 August 2023

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