14 Mar, 2024

A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Parent Management Training Program for Incarcerated Parents: Proximal Impacts

ABSTRACT: The primary aim of the Parent Child Study was to examine the impact of a Parent Management Training (PMT) intervention, called Parenting Inside Out (PIO), on incarcerated parents and their families. Here, we report on the most proximal outcomes for participants, after program completion and before release from prison, and specifically whether the intervention impacted indicators of three constructs in our theoretical model, parental adjustment, parent–caregiver relationship, and parenting. The Parenting Inside Out program shows promise as one component in a preventive intervention strategy designed to improve outcomes and foster resilience processes within the growing population of children of incarcerated parents. On the basis of the findings presented here, Parenting Inside Out appears to have a significant impact on incarcerated parents while in prison in three areas of particular importance, parent adjustment, parent–caregiver relationships, and parenting.

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