Lieber, L. & Baker J. (1977). Parents Anonymous: Self-help treatment for child abusing parents: A review and an evaluation. Child Abuse & Neglect, 1, 133-148.

Type of Study: Time-series evaluation design
Number of Participants: 613

Population:

• Age range — Parents Mean = 29.3 years, Children’s Mean = 5.9 years Gender: 83% females, 17% males
• Race/Ethnicity — 69% Anglo, 4% Black, 3% American Indian, 2% Mexican-American, 1% Asian-American, 20% Other or no answer
• Gender — Not Specified
• Status — Data was collected from questionnaires mailed to all (356) identified Parents Anonymous (PA) Chapters at one specific point in time, April 25, 1976; 35% of those mailed were received. 93% of the sample used was voluntary, and 7% was court-ordered.

Location / Institution: Behavior Associates, Tucson, AZ

Summary: (To include comparison groups, outcomes, measures, notable limitations)
Participants were divided into categories determined by the amount of time they had been in the PA program: one month or less, two months, three months, four months, five to six months, seven to eight months, nine to ten months, eleven to twelve months, 13-18 months, and 19 months or more. The measure used to evaluate the PA program consisted of in-depth interviews, as well as a questionnaire – The Parents Anonymous – Your Personal Profile – that assessed dimensions such as self-esteem, feelings about parenthood and children, satisfaction derived from parenthood, knowledge of child development, frequency and severity of abusive behavior, social contacts and use of community resources, and perceived benefits of participation in PA. Results of statistical analyses showed a decrease in reported frequency of physical abuse that appeared to almost immediately take effect upon entering the PA program. For example, the overall frequency of physical abuse of the respondents who had been in the program only one month was close to “Almost Never,” the lowest choice on a scale including (in order of least to greatest frequency): Almost Never, Once a Month, Several Times a Month, Several Times a Week, and Almost Every Day. This decrease in physical abuse did not significantly change with time in the program. In contrast, though a decrease in verbal abuse was also shown, this decrease continued over time in the program. Additionally, increases in positive statements about self and increases in reported frequency of social contacts were both shown to be significantly correlated to increases in length of time in the PA program. The evaluation results also showed that the PA program has demonstrated a statistically significant impact on the participants’ knowledge in areas of child behavior and development, showing that their behavioral expectations for children became more developmentally and age appropriate as time in the program increased. Limitations include the lack of a control group, reliance on self-report, and the lack of follow-up data.

Length of post-intervention follow-up: None.

Roth, H. (1985). Relationship between attendance at a Parents Anonymous adult program and children's behavior at the Parents Anonymous child care program. Children and Youth Services Review, 7, 39-43.

Type of Study: Single group time series design
Number of Participants: 35 children

Population:

• Age range — Children: 1-14 years
• Race/Ethnicity — Not Specified
• Gender — Not Specified
• Status — Participants were parents & their children involved in the Parents Anonymous (PA) Program, which met weekly at the Asbury Methodist Church in Durham, North Carolina. The Child Care Program met at the same church on a different floor, and was scheduled at the same time the parents attended their group meetings.

Location / Institution: Durham, North Carolina

Summary: (To include comparison groups, outcomes, measures, notable limitations)
This article examines the statistical relationship between the proportion of parent group meetings attended by parents involved in a PA Adult Program and the number of positive behavioral ratings received by children who attended the PA Child Care Program. In order to assess the effectiveness of PA, an evaluation measure was administered, consisting of behavior ratings on five statements related to the child’s behavior during the Child Care Program: Child behaves during structured activity time, Child interacts positively with his/her peers during the child care session, Child respects the rules and the routine of the Child Care Program, Child meaningfully participates in children’s group, Child interacts positively with child care staff; the rating scale for this measure ranged from 1 (Excellent) to 5 (No Progress). The dependent variable used in the analysis was the number of times the child improved his/her behavior ratings on these 5 statements, while they were in the Child Care Program. Three child care workers classified the children’s behavior, producing a maximum number of 15 possible ratings. Additionally, parent attendance at PA meetings was measured, based on the number of parent group meetings attended while the parent was involved in the PA program. A rating of “1” was given if the parent attended more than 50% of the meetings, and a rating of “2” was given if the parent attended 50% or less of the meetings. Results from the two-way analysis showed that the correlation between group attendance and children’s positive behavioral ratings during the Child Care Program was statistically significant. Children whose parents had attended more than 50% of the parent group meetings had a mean behavior rating of 7.98. The children whose parents attended 50% or less of the parent group meetings had an adjusted mean behavior rating of 4.61. Limitations of the study include the small sample size, the lack of a control group, and lack of follow-up data.

Length of post-intervention follow-up: None.

Hunka, C., O’Toole, A., & O’Toole, R. (1985). Self-help therapy in Parents Anonymous. Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 23, 24-32.

Type of Study: Quasi-experimental time series design
Number of Participants: 18

Population:

• Age range — Average 29-30 years
• Race/Ethnicity — Not Specified
• Gender — 17% male, 83% female
• Status — Participants were members of two PARENTS ANONYMOUS (PA) groups that met regularly in a centrally located church in an urban area. One group had 6 members and consisted mostly of housewives. The larger group had 12 members and was more heterogeneous, including more men. Half of the sample was self-referred, 5 were referred by PA members, and 4 were referred by social service agencies.

Location / Institution: Ohio

Summary: (To include comparison groups, outcomes, measures, notable limitations)
This study assessed the effectiveness of PA on parents’ abuse-related attitudes and behaviors towards their children. The senior author of this article obtained permission to join the two PA groups, presenting herself as a parent and as a student who was conducting a study. Following her participation in the groups for 3 months, structured interviews with the sample were initiated. The first interview retrospectively assessed the parents’ perceived positions on a number of attitudes and behaviors related to abuse, before they joined PA, as well as collected demographic information regarding attendance, recruitment, and length of abusive history with the child before contacting PA. An average of 5 weeks later, a second interview was conducted, measuring parents’ current positions on these same attitudes and behaviors. A Likert-type ranking scale from 1 to 5 was used to measure the position of parents on each of these behaviors; a “1” represented attitudes, knowledge, or behavior that was least conducive to abuse, while a “5” reflected a score that was most conducive to abuse. The abuse-related attitudes and behaviors measured included social isolation, self-esteem, dependency needs, impulsiveness, passivity, attitude toward child, knowledge of child development, problem-solving ability, ability to cope with stress, and child management techniques. From pre-treatment, the change in each of these dimensions following participation in PA was statistically significant. Parents’ average pre-treatment rankings were towards the abusive end of the scale (closer to a “5” rating); after involvement in PA, parents’ average rankings on these dimensions were closer to the opposite end of the scale, with mean rankings of “1” and “2”. Among other improvements, parents who attended PA 18 months or more tended to have higher change scores than those who had attended less than 18 months. Limitations of the study include the use of only two PA groups – and as a result, a small sample size, the use of a retrospective self-report measure, the lack of a control group, and the lack of follow-up data.

Length of post-intervention follow-up: None.

Post-Kammer, P. (1988). Does Parents Anonymous reduce child abuse? The Education Digest, 54(3), 33-36.

Type of Study: Cross-sectional study
Number of Participants: 82

Population:

• Age range — Local Sample: Mean = 33 years; National Sample: Mean = 29.3 years
• Race/Ethnicity — Local Sample: 71% white, 13% black, remainder reported other ethnic backgrounds; National Sample: 69% white, 4% black, rest unspecified
• Gender — Local Sample: 75% women, National Sample: 83% women, 17% men
• Status — Participants attended Parents Anonymous (PA) groups in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Location / Institution: Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Summary: (To include comparison groups, outcomes, measures, notable limitations)
The purposes of this study were 1) to describe PA – a national support-group organization that assists abusive parents – to school counselors for their use as a referral source, and 2) to determine whether participation in PA affected parents’ self-concept, understanding of children, and abusive behaviors. Participants were each in one of three groups: physically abusive parents (n = 47), sexually abusive parents (n = 27), and elderly parents (n = 8) who perceive themselves to have been abused or mistreated by their adult children. A self-report assessment developed by the PA organization was given to participants, administered during a regular PA group meeting, & kept anonymous. More than 80 percent of the members reported that attending PA resulted in improvement in their ability to cope with stress. Members also reported a reduction in frequency of verbal and physical abuse after joining PA. Additionally, there was significant – though low – correlation between the number of months in PA and understanding of children, such that the higher number of months in PA, the better understanding of children. Limitations of the study include the lack of control-group, reliance on only one self-report measure, small sample size, and lack of pre-test & follow-up data.

Length of post-intervention follow-up: None.

Polinsky, M. L., Pion-Berlin, L., Williams, S., & Wolf, A. M. (2010). Preventing child abuse and neglect: A national evaluation of Parents Anonymous® Groups. Child Welfare, 89(6), 43-62.

Type of Study: One group pre-test post-test study
Number of Participants: 206

Population:

• Age range — Not Specified
• Race/Ethnicity — 49% Black/African American, 42% White, and 7% Other
• Gender — 90% Female
• Status — Parents new to Parents Anonymous® groups (not attended more than five group meetings prior to recruitment) from 54 randomly selected groups in 19 states.

Location / Institution: Not Specified

Summary: (To include comparison groups, outcomes, measures, notable limitations)
This evaluation assessed whether participation in Parents Anonymous® mutual support groups was associated with child maltreatment prevention.  Parents new to groups were interviewed at baseline, one month, and six months; approximately 20% of eligible parents agreed to participate.  Measures were derived from existing measures, which were not identified.  All parents showed improvements in child maltreatment outcomes, risk factors, and protective factors.  Parents starting out with particularly serious needs showed statistically significant improvement on every scale.  Limitations included the lack of a control group, low recruitment rates (less than 20% of new participants agreed to participate in the study) leading to concerns about the generalizability of the results to all participants, and a lack of information on the measures that were used.

Length of post-intervention follow-up: None.